REG - Informa PLC - 2024 Full Year Results
06/03/2025 07:15
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RNS Number : 5488Z Informa PLC 06 March 2025
Informa PLC 2024 Preliminary Full-Year Results
6 March 2025
Strong Growth and International Expansion
Informa delivering double-digit revenue growth and $1bn+ free cash flow
Informa (LSE: INF.L), the international Live B2B Events, B2B Digital Services
and Academic Markets Group today published full year results for 2024,
reporting double digit revenue and profit growth, the resumption of share
buybacks and guidance for further strong growth in 2025.
Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive, Informa PLC, said:
"On every measure, the Informa Group delivered an outstanding result in 2024,
from revenue growth to higher dividend returns, alongside further
International and Portfolio expansion. This is a performance we aim to repeat
in 2025."
He added: "Our growth ambitions through the 2025-2028 One Informa period are
underpinned by structural growth in B2B Events and Specialist Knowledge,
market-leading Brands and a geographic mix weighted to fast-growing economies.
Further scale and opportunity in the increasingly important GCC Growth Gateway
is delivered through today's proposed strategic partnership in the UAE."
Further Strong Performance in 2024
· Strong Financial Performance:(1) Revenue £3,553.1m (2023:
£3,189.6m), Adjusted Operating Profit(1) £995.0m (2023: £853.8m) and Free
Cash Flow(1) £812.1m (2023: £631.7m);
· Double-Digit Underlying Growth:(1) Underlying revenue growth of
11.6% and underlying adjusted operating profit growth of 22.9%, including
double-digit underlying revenue growth in both B2B Markets and Academic
Markets;
· Improving Margins:(1) Underlying revenue growth and strong profit
conversion delivers further increase in adjusted operating margin to 28.0%
(2023: 26.8%);
· Growing Earnings per Share:(1) Adjusted diluted earnings per
share +10.6% to 50.1p (2023: 45.3p), reflecting strong operating performance;
· Improving Statutory Performance: 2024 statutory operating profit
+6.9% to £542.8m (2023: £507.8m), reflecting strong underlying growth and
further inorganic expansion, with statutory diluted EPS lower at 22.2p (2023:
29.9p), due to lower fair value gains on contingent consideration, one-off
finance fees and non-cash loss on disposal.
Maximising Informa's B2B Growth Platform: 2025-2028 One Informa
· Structural Growth: Live B2B Events are underpinned by a number of
positive structural growth trends, including the rising value of face-to-face
connections in a digital world, the power of MICE (Meetings, Incentives,
Conferences, Exhibitions) in developing industries and driving economic
growth, and the AI Time Dividend, as technology creates more time for
innovation and impact;
· Growth Geographies: We are building our B2B platform around
faster-growing geographies, shifting the focus from the UK/Europe (c.10%
revenue) to the Americas/GCC/Asia/China (c.85%);
· Growth Markets: We are targeting B2B end markets with intrinsic
growth characteristics, including fragmented supply chains, high levels of
innovation and high margin products, creating leading market positions e.g.
Technology, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Nutrition, Aviation and FinTech;
· Specialist B2B Brands: Our B2B platform is underpinned by 800+
specialist B2B Brands that are synonymous with the end market they serve,
delivering must-attend events and experiences that drive growth, discovery and
impact;
· B2B Growth Platform: The combination of structural growth, growth
geographies, growth markets and market-leading Brands is now delivering
consistent 5%+ underlying revenue growth;
(1)In this report, we refer to non-statutory measures, as defined in the
Financial Review on page 10 and Glossary on page 42.
· 2025-2028 One Informa: A four-year, self-funded programme to
further maximise our B2B platform through Brand extension and International
partnerships, with particular focus on Market-Leading Customer Experience,
Data-led Marketing (IIRIS), Specialist Brands and the further deployment of
digital service technologies and AI tools, including Informa's AI personal
assistant, Elysia;
Strong Momentum into 2025
· Consistent Strong Underlying Growth: In 2025, Informa's growth
platform will deliver 5%+ Group underlying revenue growth before any
reinvestment in inorganic additions;
· Double-Digit Earnings Growth: Our target for the expanded Informa
portfolio is reported revenues of £4.1bn+ in 2025 (excluding Curinos (now
divested) and with a USD/GBP exchange rate of $1.25), and double-digit growth
in adjusted diluted earnings per share;
· Q1 Performance and Forward Visibility: 2025 has started strongly,
with c.£1.7bn of revenues (40%+ of target revenues) already paid, booked or
committed through subscriptions, recurring exhibitor revenues and forward
booked contracts.
Further Scale in the GCC Growth Gateway through new Partnership
· Expansion through creation of Informa International: Proposed
strategic partnership with Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) to combine
Informa's B2B Events business in the UAE and connected partner markets with
Dubai-based DWTC's B2B Events business; Creates further scale and opportunity
in one of the fastest-growth markets for B2B Events, where significant new
venue capacity is coming on stream in 2026;
· This new joint venture, Informa International, will have revenues
of $700m+, with 30%+ operating margins, bringing together a portfolio of
market-leading Brands in highly attractive growth categories, including
Healthcare (WHX), Energy (Middle East Energy), Aviation (Dubai Air Show), Food
(Gulfood), ICT (GITEX) and Information Security (GISEC);
· This combination of commercial equals requires no cash
consideration and is expected to complete in Q4 2025. Informa's shareholding
(52%) will lead to full consolidation of revenues and operating profit, with
accretion to adjusted earnings per share expected from 2026.
Balance Sheet Strength and Consistent Shareholder Returns
· Strong Free Cash Flow growth: Operating strength and continuing
discipline in cash management delivered operating cashflow conversion over
100% and free cash flow growth of 28.6% in 2024(1);
· Portfolio focus: Successful divestment of Lloyds' List and
Curinos equity investments for combined value of over £200m, (>20X
EV/EBITDA), further simplifying our portfolio;
· Balance Sheet Strength: Strong underlying cash flows combined
with non-core divestments enabled significant organic and inorganic growth
investment in 2024, with year-end leverage of 2.6x net debt to adjusted
EBITDA, with further deleveraging to come in 2025;
· Consistent Shareholder Returns: Ordinary dividends of 20.0p per
share for 2024, +11.1% year-on-year, combined with £425m+ of share buybacks,
delivered £675m+ in-year cash returns;
· Recommencing Share Buybacks: The Share Buyback Programme
restarts, reflecting forward visibility and growth, and in line with our
Capital Allocation Policy; Initial minimum £200m+ in 2025;
· Sustainability...FasterForward: Delivery of FasterForward
sustainability strategy, including the Sustainable Events Fundamentals
Programme, recognised through inclusion in Dow Jones Sustainability Index for
seventh consecutive year, AAA ESG Rating from MSCI and A- CDP Score.
(1)In this report, we refer to non-statutory measures, as defined in the
Financial Review on page 10 and Glossary on page 42.
Enquiries
Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive +44 (0) 20 8052 0400
Gareth Wright, Group Finance Director +44 (0) 20 8052 0400
Richard Menzies-Gow, Director of IR & Communications +44 (0) 20 8052 2787
Tim Burt / Anthony Di Natale - Teneo +44 (0) 7583 413254 / +44 (0) 7880 715975
2024 Financial Summary
2024 2023 Reported Underlying(3)
£m £m % %
Revenue 3,553.1 3,189.6 11.4 11.6
Statutory operating profit 542.8 507.8
Adjusted operating profit(4) 995.0 853.8 16.5 22.9
Adjusted operating margin (%)(4) 28.0 26.8
Statutory profit before tax 407.3 492.1
Adjusted profit before tax(4) 915.4 834.6
Statutory diluted earnings per share (p) 22.2 29.9
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (p)(4) 50.1 45.3
Free cash flow(4) 812.1 631.7
Net debt (incl. IFRS 16)(4) 3,201.8 1,456.4
Full year dividend per share (p) 20.0 18.0
2024 Divisional Highlights
2024 2023 Reported Underlying(3)
£m £m % %
Informa Markets
Revenue 1,723.0 1,593.3 8.1 14.2
Statutory operating profit 318.7 228.1
Adjusted operating profit(4) 520.0 460.5 12.9 24.1
Adjusted operating margin(4) (%) 30.2 28.9
Informa Connect
Revenue 631.0 580.6 8.7 4.1
Statutory operating profit 30.2 31.8
Adjusted operating profit(4) 114.4 102.5 11.6 11.8
Adjusted operating margin(4) (%) 18.1 17.7
Informa Tech
Revenue 423.9 396.7 6.9 9.5
Statutory operating profit 42.3 98.5
Adjusted operating profit(4) 82.2 72.9 12.8 29.7
Adjusted operating margin(4) (%) 19.4 18.4
Taylor & Francis
Revenue 698.2 619.0 12.8 14.5
Statutory operating profit 202.5 149.4
Adjusted operating profit(4) 255.7 217.9 17.3 22.6
Adjusted operating margin(4) (%) 36.6 35.2
Other
Revenue 77.0 n/a n/a n/a
Statutory operating loss (50.9) n/a
Adjusted operating profit(4) 22.7 n/a n/a n/a
Adjusted operating margin(4) (%) 29.5 n/a
(3)In this document, we refer to Statutory (Reported) and Underlying results.
Underlying figures are adjusted for acquisitions and disposals, the phasing of
events including biennials, the impact of changes from new accounting
standards and policy changes, and the effects of currency. It includes, on a
pro-forma basis, results from acquisitions from the first day of ownership in
the comparative period and excludes results from sold businesses from the date
of disposal in the comparative period. Statutory figures exclude such
adjustments. Alternative performance measures are detailed in the Glossary.
(4)In this document we refer to Statutory (Reported) and Adjusted results, as
well as other non-statutory financial measures. Adjusted results are prepared
to provide an alternative measure to explain the Group's performance. Adjusted
results exclude adjusting items as set out in Note 6 to the Financial
Statements. Operating Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow, Net Debt and other
non-statutory measures are discussed in the Financial Review and the Glossary.
The Informa Group
The Informa Group enters 2025 as The International Leader in B2B Markets and a
Leading International Humanities and Social Science Academic Publisher.
The Informa B2B Growth Platform
The Informa Group is consistently delivering 5%+ underlying revenue growth,
underpinned by a market-leading B2B platform, world class B2B Brands and a
decade of focus on the geographic growth markets of the world.
B2B Structural Growth
Since 2013, Informa has built its B2B platform around a number of core B2B
structural growth drivers:
1. MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) as an economic
strategy...Fast growth economies using MICE to develop industries, accelerate
growth and attract foreign investment and business tourism;
2. B2B Specialisation...B2B industries becoming increasingly segmented
and specialist, creating new market categories and driving demand for
specialist B2B Events, Content and Networking;
3. Supply Chain Refresh/Review...Increasingly complex and dynamic supply
chains increase the need to source new suppliers, new distributors, new buyers
and new components, a demand-side accelerant for large scale B2B trade shows;
4. Rising value of face-to-face...Increasing value being placed on high
quality B2B face-to-face interactions in an increasingly digital B2B world;
5. Business Travel consolidates...The power and reach of market leading
B2B Event Brands deliver material business travel and time efficiencies,
providing access to multiple customers / suppliers / colleagues in a single
location;
6. AI Time Dividend... The AI Time Dividend increases professional time
for innovation, creation and business development, rather than process,
administration and simple summary.
Growth Markets and Growth Geographies
Our B2B platform is built around growth markets in growth geographies:
· Growth markets: Targeting B2B markets with intrinsic growth
characteristics of their own, including fragmented supply chains,
international communities, high levels of change and innovation in
product/service capabilities, and high margin products. This has created
leading market positions in Technology, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals,
Nutrition, Food, Aviation, FinTech, Construction, Luxury, Beauty and
Marketing.
· Growth geographies: Shifting the geographic focus of the Informa
Group from UK/Europe to Americas/GCC/Asia/China, becoming more international
and strengthening our position in fast-growth economies. In 2025, Informa will
generate c.45% of revenues from North America, c.40% from IMEA/GCC/Asia/China
(including Informa International) and c.10% from Continental Europe, the
majority from a small number of major international B2B Events brands (Cannes
Lions, SuperReturn, CPHI). The UK will account for less than 5%, primarily
Academic Markets.
The scale and reach of Informa's B2B platform and our leading positions in
growth markets and growth geographies, creates multiple opportunities to
develop our products and services and drive accelerated growth:
1. Price for value...The ability to drive yields through product/service
mix, pricing and customer value/ROI
2. Increased Market Penetration...Growth through network effects (the
big get bigger), new customer segments and international partnerships;
3. Increased Capacity / Supply...Ability to launch into new venue
capacity, with an additional c.2m sqm coming online in the Top 20 B2B
locations over the next five years, weighted to fast growth economies;
4. Geo Expansion...Proven playbook for Brand extension, Brand expansion,
Brand syndication and Global Cities approach, particularly in fast-growing
economies;
5. Increasing Attendee Value...Development of audience services to
generate more value for and from attendees through ticketing, hosted buying,
curated content and product/customer specifications;
6. Amplification Services...Value added services in and around B2B
Events, including matchmaking, content marketing, product promotion,
accreditation, sponsorship and lead generation.
2025 Growth Outlook
In 2025, Group underlying revenue growth is expected to be more than 5% before
any contribution from inorganic additions.
The Group will also have a full year of Informa Festivals and Informa
TechTarget in 2025, whilst Lloyds' List and Curinos were divested in December
2024. In 2024, Taylor & Francis also generated significant revenues from
non-recurring data access contracts.
The overall target is for double-digit growth in Group Revenue and Adjusted
Diluted Earnings Per Share, including reported revenues of £4.1bn+ (excluding
Curinos (now divested) and with a USD/GBP 1.25).
Live B2B Events (Informa Markets, Informa Connect, Informa Festivals)
Informa is the largest owner operator of B2B Brands globally, including 800+
specialist Brands serving 30+ growth markets and all major geographic regions,
with a mix weighted to the fast-growing economies of the Americas, GCC, Asia
and China .
This B2B platform is delivering consistent strong revenue growth through a
combination of volume growth, value growth, improving yields, additional
services and new brand launches. In 2025, this will include the launch of
Money 20/20 Middle East in Riyadh, the first brand extension from the Informa
Festivals portfolio.
The target for 2025 is 7%+ underlying revenue growth for the B2B Events
Division.
B2B Digital Services (Informa TechTarget)
The Informa TechTarget combination completed in December 2024, with Informa
the 57% owner, and under US listing obligations will file 2024 Full Year
Results on 31 March 2025. Informa TechTarget has already indicated an expected
range for pro-forma 2024 Group revenues of $490m to $500m.
In 2025, Informa TechTarget is focused on combination, bringing the portfolio
together and developing an expanded product/service offering for customers.
The market backdrop for enterprise technology marketing expenditure remains
stable but subdued. Informa TechTarget is targeting low to mid-single digit
revenue growth in 2025 and improving margins from combination synergies, which
are on plan.
Academic Markets (Taylor & Francis)
Taylor & Francis had a strong year in 2024, with underlying revenues on
plan at c.3.5% (excluding non-recurring data access contracts) and an
exceptional performance in licencing, archives and data access, in particular
with AI companies, taking total revenue growth to 12.8%. As previously
disclosed, this included $75m+ of data access revenue which is non-recurring.
In 2025, the year has started well, with subscription renewals ahead on both
retention and cash collection compared to 2024. Open research volumes also
continue to grow, with the focus on increasing submissions, improving
acceptance rates and shortening the lead time from submission to publication.
In Advanced Learning, we are also increasing frontlist volumes to close to
9,000 titles, which will further expand the back list of c.200,000 specialist
titles.
Given the size, scale and depth of specialist content assets within the Taylor
& Francis portfolio, we are targeting further licencing and archive
revenues as part of an ongoing, repeatable income stream with a range of
customers, including institutions, national libraries and AI companies.
The target in 2025 is 4% underlying revenue growth (rebasing 2024 performance
for non-recurring data access contracts).
One Informa 2025-2028
Over the next four years, the One Informa programme is designed to maximise
the growth and value generated through Informa's B2B platform.
We will further extend Brands into growth regions, develop new partnerships in
growth categories and continue to collect and use our proprietary first party
data (IIRIS) and digital capabilities to develop new services and additional
value.
One Informa will be self-funded, with incremental investment in key
initiatives financed through existing free cash flow and efficiencies
generated through operating simplification, technology unification and
leveraging the full power of AI.
The initial focus will be on further developing our market-leading
capabilities in a number of key areas to improve the way we operate, reduce
customer friction, deliver operating efficiencies and increase the impact we
have on our markets and for our audiences and customers:
· Market-Leading Customer Experience: Using first party data and
digital technology to reduce friction and personalise our products and
services for customers and audiences, increasing market impact and driving
ever greater alignment between the buyside and sellside of the Industries we
serve;
· Data-led Marketing (IIRIS): Aligning our marketing capabilities
more closely with our proprietary first party data (IIRIS) to deepen the
connection with our customers and audiences, delivering more direct, more
personalised and more impactful marketing;
· Brands and Brand Value: Aligning all our businesses, products and
services more closely around the Informa brand, increasing visibility and
building longer-term Brand equity;
· AI Time Dividend: Applying this benefit to our own business by
expanding the AI tools available to Colleagues and Customers to enhance
productivity, deepen connections and create more time to focus on innovation
and new growth opportunities by reducing process and administration. This
includes the full deployment of Elysia across the company, our AI personal
assistant for Colleagues, providing efficient and secure search/retrieval,
summaries, analysis, translation etc.
Further Scale in the GCC
A cornerstone of Informa's growth in B2B Events over the last 10 years has
been International expansion in the fast-growing economies of the Americas,
GCC, Asia and China. The GCC and wider IMEA region has been at the heart of
this activity, with revenues in the region more than tripling to c.$500m+ over
the period through a combination of organic growth, investment and brand
extension, portfolio additions and regional partnerships.
The GCC has a number of key attractions for B2B Events:
· GCC Growth Gateway: The GCC region offers high levels of economic
growth and trade activity, with a diminishing dependence on energy as growth
in non-oil industries develops rapidly. GDP across the GCC region is forecast
to grow c.5%+ in 2025;
· Global trade hub: The GCC is a critical connector between the
East and West, strengthening its position as a global trade hub, with regional
trade volumes forecast to reach $2.3 trillion by 2033;
· MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) as an
economic strategy: As GCC economies seek to diversify away from energy into
other industries, MICE are key strategic platforms for accelerating growth and
attracting investment. This is reflected in significant investment in high
quality venues, hotels, airlines, airports and infrastructure, as well as
strong government support.
In the UAE alone, there is currently c.320,000 square metres of B2B event
capacity and more than 210,000 hotel rooms, as well as being home to two
world-leading airlines and international airports. Furthermore, from 2026, the
Dubai Exhibition Centre, the host venue of the 2020 World Expo, will be more
than tripling its capacity to a total of 180,000 square metres exhibition
space, providing significant new growth opportunities.
In 2024, the GCC was the fastest growing region at Informa, increasing more
than 30% year-on-year, underpinned by two growth platforms.
Informa International: Proposed partnership with DWTC's B2B Events business
For more than 25 years, Informa has operated in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), building a leading B2B Events business based out of Dubai. Today we are
confirming the proposed strategic partnership between this business and
Dubai-based Dubai World Trade Centre's (DWTC) B2B Events business, creating
further scale in the increasingly important GCC Growth Gateway.
The partnership will include respective Exhibitions, Confexes, Conferences,
Professional Training and Accreditation businesses in the UAE and key partner
markets, creating a market leader delivering double digit growth with revenues
of $700m+ and adjusted operating margins over 30%.
The combined business, Informa International, will on completion be
consolidated for reporting purposes as part of the Informa Group.
DWTC has been a leader in B2B Events in the UAE for more than three decades.
Separately, it also owns the two major venues in Dubai, the Dubai World Trade
Centre and the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), landmark locations that support
city-wide events and activations. The first phase of DEC's expansion will add
a further 80,000 square metres of permanent new capacity as early of 2026,
reflecting the continuing and growing demand for high quality B2B Events in
the region.
Informa International: High growth, high margin
The combined business will own and operate more than 40 major B2B Brands
serving a range of attractive industry growth categories, including Healthcare
(WHX), Energy (Middle East Energy), Aviation (Dubai Air Show), Food (Gulfood),
ICT (GITEX) and Information Security (GISEC).
The B2B Events category in these markets is forecast to grow strongly over the
next three years, underpinned by strong regional dynamics for economic growth
and trade, positive structural trends supporting B2B Events and a number of
specific, regional growth drivers, including substantial new venue capacity
and a number of significant brand extension opportunities.
Informa International is also expected to benefit from Informa's expertise in
first party data and ability to drive yields through additional services for
exhibitors and attendees.
Timeline to completion
Target completion for the creation of Informa International is Q4 2025, with
the business fully operational for the 2026 trading year, subject to customary
conditions, including regulatory approvals.
The joint venture partnership of commercial equals requires no cash
consideration, with relative valuations of the two businesses based on forward
growth projections. Informa's shareholding (52%) will lead to full
consolidation of revenues and adjusted operating profit, with the partnership
expected to be accretive to Informa's adjusted earnings per share from 2026.
Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive, Informa PLC, said:
"We already have a great partnership in Dubai with DWTC and today's
announcement will further expand our relationship, allowing us to create
something quite unique and special together in what is a highly vibrant and
fast growing market."
His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade
Centre Authority, said:
"Dubai today is a leading destination for Global B2B Events that develop
industries and drive economic growth. DWTC has built a portfolio of flagship
B2B event brands and Informa is the perfect partner with whom to combine
strengths and capture the next stage of growth in this high impact sector."
Tahaluf: A national partnership for growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
In 2022, we established a partnership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
with two partner shareholders (SAFCSP, EIF), with the purpose of bringing or
creating world class B2B Events and other B2B services to the Kingdom and
contribute to Riyadh's rise as a global gateway city, in effect to create a
national champion.
Over the last three years, Tahaluf has launched more than 12 brands in the KSA
market through a mix of Brand creations, Brand extensions and Brand
syndications, including in Future Tech (LEAP), Pharma (CPHI Middle East),
Healthcare (Global Health Exhibition), Cyber Security (Black Hat Middle East),
Real Estate (Cityscape Global) and FinTech (Money 20/20 Middle East).
The business has grown significantly and Tahaluf has ambitious plans to expand
the portfolio further over the coming years.
Balance Sheet Strength and Consistent Shareholder Returns
Strong underlying growth in 2024 and a continuing focus on cash management and
cash generation, delivered a very strong cash performance in the year, with
over 100% operating cash conversion and free cash flow of £812m, our highest
ever level and 28.6% increase year-on-year.
Portfolio divestments and reinvestment in growth
At the half year, we announced a review of our portfolio of non-core equity
investments and in December, this led to the sale of our remaining 20% stake
in the maritime intelligence business, Lloyds' List and our majority holding
in retail banking intelligence business, Curinos. These divestments
collectively generated over £200m of value, at an aggregate valuation of over
20x EV/EBITDA.
Combined with the strong operating cash performance of the business, these
divestments enabled the Group to invest organically (£100m of capital
expenditure) and inorganically (including Ascential and TechTarget), whilst
maintaining balance sheet flexibility, with year-end leverage of 2.6x net debt
to adjusted EBITDA.
In 2025, we will see our leverage move to within our target range of 1.5x to
2.5x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, with capacity for further investment in
growth and consistent shareholder returns.
Long-term financing flexibility
In October, we issued €1.75bn of bonds to refinance the Acquisition Bridge
Facility put in place to fund the addition of Ascential plc. The
oversubscribed bond took the Group's post-issue total average debt maturity to
3.4 years and the forward weighted average cost of debt to 4.3%, providing
long-term financing flexibility at attractive rates.
11% Dividend growth and £200m+ minimum Share Buyback commitment
Our commitment to reinvest back in the business to drive future growth is
matched by a commitment to deliver consistent shareholder returns, including
progressive dividends and share buybacks.
In 2024, we completed over £425m of share buybacks, leading to the
cancellation of 51.5m shares. Payment of the 2023 final dividend and the 2024
interim dividend within the year saw a further £248m of capital returned to
shareholders, taking total in-year cash returns to over £675m.
In 2025, strong forward visibility and growth and further strong cash
generation are reflected in a c.11% increase in total 2024 dividends and the
resumption of the Share Buyback Programme, in line with our Capital Allocation
Policy, with an initial minimum investment of £200m, effective immediately.
Board Update
In 2024, Informa welcomed two new non-executive Board Directors, Maria
Kyriacou and Catherine Levene, both bringing extensive and relevant executive
experience to the Group, with particular expertise in US media and digital
media.
Maria is a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees, whilst Catherine is
a member of the Nomination Committee and will also now join the Remuneration
Committee with immediate effect.
Financial Review
Income Statement
Informa delivered a strong set of results for the year ended 31 December 2024,
including 11.6% underlying revenue growth and 22.9% underlying adjusted
operating profit growth which resulted in a new record high level of revenue
and adjusted operating profit for the Group. This reflected strong trading
performances across both B2B and Academic Markets, both delivering double
digit underlying revenue and adjusted operating profit growth.
Adjusted results Adjusting items Statutory results Adjusted results Adjusting items Statutory results
2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 3,553.1 - 3,553.1 3,189.6 - 3,189.6
Operating profit/(loss) 995.0 (452.2) 542.8 853.8 (346.0) 507.8
Fair value (loss)/gain on investments - (9.2) (9.2) - 1.3 1.3
(Loss)/profit on disposal of subsidiaries and operations - (24.1) (24.1) - 3.0 3.0
Net finance costs (79.6) (22.6) (102.2) (19.2) (0.8) (20.0)
Profit/(loss) before tax 915.4 (508.1) 407.3 834.6 (342.5) 492.1
Tax (charge)/credit (178.2) 137.3 (40.9) (156.4) 127.0 (29.4)
Profit/(loss) for the year 737.2 (370.8) 366.4 678.2 (215.5) 462.7
Adjusted operating margin 28.0% 26.8%
Adjusted diluted and statutory diluted EPS 50.1p 22.2p 45.3p 29.9p
Financial Results
Our performance includes a 11.4% increase in revenue to £3,553.1m. Every
division delivered underlying revenue growth in the year. The Group reported a
statutory operating profit of £542.8m in 2024, compared with a statutory
operating profit of £507.8m for the year ended 31 December 2023. The growth
in 2024 reflected strong trading performance across all regions, supported by
strong results in both B2B and Academic Markets. Adjusted operating profit was
£995.0m, growing 22.9% year-on-year on an underlying basis, again with growth
delivered in all our divisions.
Statutory net finance costs increased by £82.2m to £102.2m, with adjusted
net finance costs increasing by £60.4m to £79.6m. This was as a result of
acquisition activity through 2023 and 2024 that reduced overall cash balances,
and therefore lowered interest income, together with increased interest
charges following the €1.75bn issuance of Euro Medium Term Notes to fund
acquisitions.
The combination of all these factors led to a statutory profit before tax of
£407.3m in 2024, compared with a statutory profit before tax of £492.1m in
2023. The profit in the year led to a statutory tax charge of £40.9m in 2024
compared to a tax charge of £29.4m in the prior year.
This profit outcome translated into a statutory diluted earnings per share of
22.2p compared to 29.9p for the prior year, with the £82.2m increase in
statutory net finance costs partially offset by the £35.0m increase in
statutory operating profit. Adjusted diluted EPS grew to 50.1p from 45.3p in
the prior year, an increase of 10.6%.
Measurement and Adjustments
In addition to statutory results, adjusted results are prepared for the Income
Statement. These include adjusted operating profit, adjusted diluted earnings
per share and other underlying measures. A full definition of these metrics
can be found in the Glossary of terms on page 42. The divisional table on page
12 provides a reconciliation between statutory operating profit and adjusted
operating profit by division.
Revenue and adjusted operating profit growth on an underlying basis are
reconciled to statutory growth in the table below:
Underlying growth Phasing and other items Acquisitions and disposals Currency change Reported growth
2024
Revenue 11.6% (3.4)% 7.0% (3.8)% 11.4%
Adjusted operating profit 22.9% (7.7)% 6.5% (5.2)% 16.5%
2023
Revenue 30.4% (1.3%) 13.3% (1.4%) 41.0%
Adjusted operating profit 59.1% (4.0%) 16.7% 0.2% 72.0%
Adjusting Items
The items below have been excluded from adjusted results. The total adjusting
items included in the operating profit in the year were £452.2m (2023:
£346.0m). The increase in adjusting items is primarily due to lower gains on
the remeasurement of contingent consideration and increased acquisition and
integration costs.
2024 2023
£m £m
Intangible asset amortisation(1) 309.6 312.8
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangible assets 28.5 25.1
Impairment/(reversal of impairment) - IFRS 16 right of use assets 5.0 (0.6)
Acquisition costs 66.0 53.3
Integration costs 42.2 19.7
Restructuring and reorganisation costs 14.1 11.0
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (29.5) (87.6)
Fair value loss on contingent consideration 16.3 12.0
Foreign exchange loss on swap settlement - 5.6
Credit in respect of unallocated cash - (5.3)
Adjusting items in operating profit 452.2 346.0
Fair value loss/(gain) on investments 9.2 (1.3)
Loss/(profit) on disposal of subsidiaries and operations 24.1 (3.0)
Finance costs 22.6 0.8
Adjusting items in profit before tax 508.1 342.5
Tax related to adjusting items (137.3) (127.0)
Adjusting items in profit for the year 370.8 215.5
1. Excludes intangible product development and software amortisation
of £46.1m (2023: £41.1m)
Intangible amortisation of £309.6m (2023: £312.8m) relates to the historical
additions of book lists and journal titles, acquired databases, customer and
attendee relationships and brands related to exhibitions, events and
conferences and product development. As it relates to acquisitions, it is not
treated as an ordinary cost. By contrast, intangible asset amortisation
arising from software assets and product development, is treated as an
ordinary cost in the calculation of operating profit, so is not treated as an
adjusting item.
Acquisition costs of £66.0m (2023: £53.3m) principally relate to the
combination with TechTarget and the acquisition of Ascential.
Divisional Performance
The table below shows the results and adjusting items by Division,
highlighting strong growth in the B2B Markets businesses and in our Academic
Markets business, Taylor & Francis.
Informa Markets Informa Tech Informa Connect Taylor & Francis Group
Other(2)
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 1,723.0 423.9 631.0 698.2 77.0 3,553.1
Underlying revenue growth 14.2% 9.5% 4.1% 14.5% - 11.6%
Statutory operating profit/(loss) 318.7 42.3 30.2 202.5 (50.9) 542.8
Add back:
Intangible asset amortisation(1) 173.5 37.1 54.1 31.7 13.2 309.6
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangibles 11.2 0.9 0.2 16.2 - 28.5
Impairment - IFRS 16 right of use assets 0.4 1.5 1.8 0.3 1.0 5.0
Acquisition costs 5.6 0.7 3.6 1.5 54.6 66.0
Integration costs 10.4 17.0 12.5 1.0 1.3 42.2
Restructuring and reorganisation costs 2.0 1.4 4.7 2.5 3.5 14.1
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (6.2) (18.7) (4.6) - - (29.5)
Fair value loss on contingent consideration 4.4 - 11.9 - - 16.3
Adjusted operating profit 520.0 82.2 114.4 255.7 22.7 995.0
Underlying adjusted operating profit growth 24.1% 29.7% 11.8% 22.6% - 22.9%
1. Intangible asset amortisation is in respect of acquired intangibles
and excludes amortisation of software and product development of £46.1m
(2023: £41.1m)
2. Other comprises the post-acquisition results of Ascential and
TechTarget, which were acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024
Adjusted Net Finance Costs
Adjusted net finance costs, which consist of interest costs on our corporate
bond borrowings and loans, partially offset by interest income on bank
deposits, increased by £60.4m to £79.6m. This was a result of acquisition
activity through 2023 and 2024 that reduced overall cash balances, and
therefore lowered interest income, together with increased interest charges
following the €1.75bn issuance of Euro Medium Term Notes to fund
acquisitions.
The reconciliation of adjusted net finance costs to the statutory finance
costs and finance income is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Finance income (12.9) (47.4)
Finance costs 115.1 67.4
Statutory net finance costs 102.2 20.0
Add back: adjusting items relating to finance costs (22.6) (0.8)
Adjusted net finance costs 79.6 19.2
Taxation
Approach to tax
The Group continues to recognise that taxes paid are part of the economic
benefit created for the societies in which we operate, and that a fair and
effective tax system is in the interests of tax-payers and society at large.
We aim to comply with tax laws and regulations everywhere the Group does
business and Informa has open and constructive working relationships with tax
authorities worldwide. Our approach balances the interests of stakeholders
including shareholders, governments, colleagues and the communities in which
we operate.
The Group's adjusted effective tax rate (as defined in the Glossary) reflects
the blend of tax rates and profits in the jurisdictions in which we operate.
In 2024, the adjusted effective tax rate was 19.5% (2023: 18.7%).
The calculation of the adjusted effective tax rate is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Adjusted tax charge 178.2 156.4
Adjusted profit before tax 915.4 834.6
Adjusted effective tax rate 19.5% 18.7%
Tax payments
During 2024, the Group paid £122.3m (2023: £112.4m) of corporation tax and
similar taxes.
A breakdown of the main geographies in which the Group paid tax is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
UK 15.8 20.4
Continental Europe 26.2 19.8
US 24.2 37.4
China 33.8 19.0
Rest of world 22.3 15.8
Total 122.3 112.4
The reconciliation of the adjusted tax charge to cash taxes paid is as
follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Adjusted tax charge 178.2 156.4
Movement in deferred tax including tax losses 19.6 (54.2)
Net current tax charge/(credits) in respect of adjusting items 24.9 (27.9)
Movement in provisions for uncertain tax positions 2.6 11.6
Taxes paid in different year to charged (103.0) 26.5
Taxes paid per statutory cash flow 122.3 112.4
The recognised deferred tax assets relating to US, UK and Luxembourg tax
losses were £22.2m (2023: £37.6m), £56.1m (2023: £9.8m) and £83.5m (2023:
£15.9m) respectively. These are expected to be utilised against future
taxable profits.
Goodwill is not amortised as it is subject to impairment reviews, and as a
result there is no charge to adjusting items for goodwill amortisation.
However, there can be an allowable tax benefit for certain goodwill
amortisation in the US and elsewhere. Where this benefit arises, it reduces
the tax charge on adjusted profits.
The amortisation of intangible assets is considered an adjusting item. The
£10.0m (2023: £12.6m) of current tax credits taken in respect of the
amortisation of intangible assets is therefore also treated as an adjusting
item and included in the tax credits in respect of adjusting items.
Tax contribution
The Group's total tax contribution, which comprises all material taxes paid
to, and collected, on behalf of governments globally was £545.8m in 2024
(2023: £510.3m). The geographic split of taxes paid by our businesses was as
follows:
2024 2023
UK US Other Total Total
£m £m £m £m £m
Profit taxes borne 15.8 24.2 82.3 122.3 112.4
Employment taxes borne 40.5 28.7 15.5 84.7 75.5
Other taxes 5.3 1.0 0.5 6.8 6.2
Total 61.6 53.9 98.3 213.8 194.1
In addition to the above, in 2024 we collected taxes on behalf of governments
(e.g. employee taxes and sales taxes) amounting to £332.0m (2023: £316.2m).
Dividends
The Group resumed dividend payments in 2022 and in 2023 the dividend was
increased significantly to reflect the strong growth in Group earnings. Going
forward, the Group will look to continue progressively growing dividends to
strike a balance between rewarding shareholders and retaining the financial
strength and flexibility to invest in the business and pursue growth
opportunities.
An interim dividend of 6.4p per share (2023: 5.8p per share) was paid on 20
September 2024. The total amount paid in 2024 relating to the final dividend
for 2023 and interim dividend for 2024 was £248.2m (2023: £176.6m). The
Board has recommended a final dividend of 13.6p per share for FY24 (2023:
12.2p per share). The final dividend is scheduled to be paid on 11 July 2025
to ordinary shareholders registered at the close of business on 30 May 2025.
This will result in total dividends for the year of 20.0p per share (2023:
18.0p per share). The Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) will be available for
the final dividend and the last date for receipt of elections for the DRIP
will be 20 June 2025.
Dividend cover (see Glossary of Terms for definition) was 2.5 times (2023: 2.5
times), being adjusted diluted EPS of 50.1p (2023: 45.3p) divided by total
dividends per share of 20.0p (2023: 18.0p pence). Our dividend pay-out ratio
was 40%, being total dividends per share of 20.0p divided by adjusted diluted
EPS of 50.1p.
Earnings Per Share
Adjusted diluted EPS was 10.6% higher at 50.1p (2023: 45.3p), largely
reflecting higher adjusted earnings of £673.3m (2023: £635.1m) together with
a 4.2% decrease in the weighted average number of shares following the share
buybacks completed during the year.
An analysis of adjusted diluted EPS and statutory diluted EPS is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Statutory earnings 297.7 419.0
Add back: Adjusting items in profit/loss for the year 370.8 215.5
Adjusted profit for the year 668.5 634.5
Non-controlling interests relating to adjusted profit 4.8 0.6
Adjusted earnings 673.3 635.1
Weighted average number of shares used in adjusted diluted EPS (m) 1,344.0 1,402.7
Adjusted diluted EPS (p) 50.1p 45.3p
2024 2023
£m £m
Statutory profit for the year 366.4 462.7
Non-controlling interests (68.7) (43.7)
Statutory earnings 297.7 419.0
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted EPS (m) 1,344.0 1,402.7
Statutory diluted EPS (p) 22.2p 29.9p
Currency Movements
One of the Group's strengths is its international reach and balance, with
colleagues and businesses located in most major economies of the world. This
means the Group generates revenues and costs in a mixture of currencies, with
particular exposure to the US dollar, as well as some exposure to the Euro and
the Chinese renminbi.
In 2024 approximately 66% (2023: 62%) of Group revenue was received in USD or
currencies pegged to USD, with 9% (2023: 8%) received in Euro and 8% (2023:
9%) in Chinese renminbi.
Similarly, we incurred approximately 55% (2023: 54%) of our costs in USD or
currencies pegged to USD, with 5% (2023: 4%) in Euro and 7% (2023: 7%) in
Chinese renminbi.
In 2024, each one cent ($0.01) movement in the USD to GBP exchange rate has a
circa £19m (2023: circa £16m) impact on annual revenue, and a circa £8m
(2023: circa £6m) impact on annual adjusted operating profit.
The following rates versus GBP were applied during the year:
2024 2023
Closing rate Average rate Closing Average rate
rate
US Dollar 1.26 1.28 1.27 1.24
Chinese Renminbi 9.17 9.20 9.05 8.82
Euro 1.21 1.18 1.15 1.15
Free Cash Flow
Cash management and cash generation remain a key priority and focus for the
Group, providing the funds and flexibility for paying down debt, future
organic and inorganic investment, and returns to shareholders. Our businesses
typically convert adjusted operating profit into cash at a strong rate,
reflecting the relatively low capital intensity of the Group. In 2024,
absolute levels of free cash flow continued to grow year-on-year driven by
higher profits and working capital inflows compared to working capital
outflows in the previous year.
The following table reconciles the statutory operating profit to operating
cash flow and free cash flow, both of which are defined in the Glossary.
2024 2023
£m £m
Statutory operating profit 542.8 507.8
Add back: Adjusting items 452.2 346.0
Adjusted operating profit 995.0 853.8
Software and product development amortisation 46.1 41.1
Depreciation of property and equipment 17.5 13.5
Depreciation of right of use assets 27.1 26.3
Share-based payments 22.2 20.8
Loss on disposal of other assets 0.1 2.4
Adjusted share of joint venture and associate results (2.8) (5.8)
Net exchange differences 0.9 -
Adjusted EBITDA(1) 1,106.1 952.1
Net capital expenditure (100.0) (93.8)
Working capital movement(2) 34.2 (55.2)
Pension deficit contributions (1.1) (3.5)
Operating Cash Flow 1,039.2 799.6
Restructuring and reorganisation (30.6) (15.4)
Onerous contracts associated with COVID-19 - (0.9)
Net interest (74.2) (39.2)
Taxation (122.3) (112.4)
Free Cash Flow 812.1 631.7
1. Adjusted EBITDA represents adjusted operating profit before
interest, tax, and non-cash items including depreciation and amortisation
2. Working capital movement excludes movements on
restructuring, reorganisation, COVID-19 costs and acquisition and integration
accruals or provisions as the cash flow relating to these amounts is included
in other lines in the free cash flow and reconciliation from free cash flow to
net funds flow. The variance between the working capital in the free cash flow
and the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement is driven by the non-cash movement on
these items
Free cash flow was £180.4m higher than 2023 principally due to the £141.2m
higher adjusted operating profit and a working capital inflow of £34.2m in
the year (2023: £55.2m outflow), which was partly offset by an increase of
£35.0m in net interest paid, an increase in cash tax of £9.9m, and an
increase in capex investment of £6.2m.
The calculation of operating cash flow conversion and free cash flow
conversion is as follows:
Operating cash flow conversion Free cash flow conversion
2024 2023 2024 2023
£m £m £m £m
Operating / Free Cash Flow 1,039.2 799.6 812.1 631.7
Adjusted operating profit 995.0 853.8 995.0 853.8
Operating / Free Cash Flow conversion 104.4% 93.7% 81.6% 74.0%
Net capital expenditure increased to £100.0m (2023: £93.8m) reflecting our
continuing investments in technology, real estate and other capital
expenditure. This investment was equivalent to 2.8% of 2024 revenue (2023:
2.9%).
Net cash interest payments of £74.2m were £35.0m higher than the prior year,
largely reflecting lower interest receivable in 2024. The prior year,
particularly in the first half, benefitted from higher amounts of cash
balances following the divestments in 2022. These funds were re-invested in
acquisitions across 2023 and 2024 as well as in share buybacks and dividends.
The following table reconciles net cash inflow from operating activities, as
shown in the Consolidated Cash Flow statement, to Free Cash Flow:
2024 2023
£m £m
Net cash inflow from operating activities per statutory cash flow 801.6 620.2
Interest received 13.3 47.9
Purchase of property and equipment (30.6) (27.5)
Purchase of intangible software assets (51.2) (55.1)
Product development cost additions (18.2) (11.2)
Add back: Acquisition and integration costs paid 97.2 57.4
Free Cash Flow 812.1 631.7
Net cash inflow from operating activities increased by £181.4m to £801.6m,
principally driven by the increase in adjusted profit in the year, a working
capital inflow of £34.2m, compared to an outflow of £55.2m in 2023, partly
offset by higher taxes paid. The working capital inflow in 2024 was driven by
strong collections as customers paid upfront for future events. The working
capital outflow in 2023 reflected the recognition of revenue for events where
the cash collections had been received prior to 2023, with the events
postponed until 2023 because of the pandemic (particularly relevant for events
in China).
The following table reconciles cash generated by operations, as shown in the
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement to operating cash flow from shown in the Free
Cash Flow table above:
2024 2023
£m £m
Cash generated by operations per statutory cash flow 1,011.4 819.7
Capital expenditure paid (100.0) (93.8)
Add back: Acquisition and integration costs paid 97.2 57.4
Add back: Restructuring and reorganisation costs paid 30.6 15.4
Add back: Onerous contracts associated with COVID-19 - 0.9
Operating Cash Flow 1,039.2 799.6
The following table reconciles free cash flow from operations to net funds
flow and net debt, with net debt increasing by £1,745.4m to £3,201.8m during
the year.
2024 2023
£m £m
Free Cash Flow 812.1 631.7
Acquisitions (1,636.4) (1,125.1)
Disposals 199.2 (16.0)
Repayment of acquired debt 59.2 443.9
Dividends paid to shareholders (248.2) (176.6)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests (31.0) (16.0)
Dividends received from investments 1.4 1.4
Purchase of own shares through share buyback (428.2) (548.0)
Purchase of shares for Employee Share Trust (5.4) (4.8)
Net funds flow (1,277.3) (809.5)
Non-cash movements excluding acquired debt (99.6) 76.0
Foreign exchange 50.4 2.7
Net lease additions in the year (34.0) (37.1)
Net debt at 1 January (1,456.4) (244.6)
Acquired debt (384.9) (443.9)
Net debt (3,201.8) (1,456.4)
Financing and Leverage
Net debt increased by £1,745.4m in the year to £3,201.8m (2023: £1,456.4m).
This was largely due to the consideration paid for a number of acquisitions
during the year, as well as shareholder returns through dividends and share
buybacks, which were partially offset by strong growth in free cash flow.
The Group retains significant available liquidity, with unutilised committed
financing facilities available to the Group of £1,050.0m (31 December 2023:
£1,097.1m, of which £47.1m related to Curinos). Combined with £484.3m of
cash (31 December 2023: £389.3m), the available group level liquidity at 31
December 2024 was £1,534.3m (31 December 2023: £1,486.4m).
The average debt maturity on our drawn borrowings is currently 3.4 years
(2023: 2.7 years). There are no significant maturities until October 2025.
2024 2023
Net debt and committed facilities £m £m
Cash and cash equivalents (484.3) (389.3)
Bond borrowings 2,898.3 1,492.6
Bond borrowing fees (16.4) (6.2)
Bank borrowings - 30.4
Bank borrowing fees (3.8) (2.3)
Derivative liabilities associated with borrowings 204.2 77.9
Acquired debt 329.5 -
Loans received from joint ventures 7.9 -
Net debt before leases 2,935.4 1,203.1
Lease liabilities 278.1 263.8
Finance lease receivables (11.7) (10.5)
Net debt 3,201.8 1,456.4
Borrowings (excluding derivatives, leases, fees & overdrafts) 3,227.8 1,523.0
Unutilised committed facilities (undrawn revolving credit facility) 1,050.0 1,050.0
Unutilised committed facilities (undrawn Curinos facilities) - 47.1
Total committed facilities 4,277.8 2,620.1
The Informa leverage ratio at 31 December 2024 was 2.6 times (31 December
2023: 1.4 times), and the Informa interest cover ratio was 12.7 times (31
December 2023: 75.2 times). Both are calculated using our historical basis of
reporting of financial covenants which no longer applied at 31 December 2024.
See the Glossary of terms for the definition of Informa leverage ratio and
Informa interest cover.
The calculation of the Informa leverage ratio is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Net debt 3,201.8 1,456.4
Adjusted EBITDA 1,106.1 952.1
Adjusted leverage 2.9x 1.5x
Adjustment to EBITDA(1) 0.1x 0.1x
Adjustment to net debt(1) (0.4)x (0.2)x
Informa leverage ratio 2.6x 1.4x
1. Refer to Glossary for details of the adjustments to EBITDA and net
debt for Informa leverage ratio
The calculation of Informa interest cover is as follows:
2024 2023
£m £m
Adjusted EBITDA 1,106.1 952.1
Adjusted net finance costs 79.6 19.2
Adjusted interest cover 13.9x 49.6x
Adjustment to EBITDA (1.2)x 25.6x
Informa interest cover 12.7x 75.2x
1. Refer to Glossary for details of the adjustments to EBITDA for
Informa interest cover
There are no financial covenants over any of the Group's borrowings (2023:
£30.4m, relating to Curinos).
Corporate Development
Informa has a proven track record in creating value through identifying,
executing and integrating complementary businesses effectively into the Group.
In 2024, cash invested in acquisitions was £1,636.4m (2023: £1,125.1m). Of
this, £1,450.5m (2023: £596.7m) related to spend on acquisitions net of cash
acquired, £8.2m (2023: £22.8m) to cash paid for business assets, £97.2m
(2023: £57.4m) to acquisition and integration spend, £14.6m (2023: £nil) to
cash paid to acquire Tarsus non-controlling interests, £59.2m (2023:
£443.9m) to the repayment of acquired debt and £6.7m (2023: £4.3m) to a
further investment in the Group's interest in BolognaFiere.
Acquisitions
Informa completed a number of acquisitions during 2024, the most significant
being Solar Media, IMN, TechTarget and Ascential.
On 4 April 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Solar
Media Limited (Solar Media). Solar Media is a UK-based business specialising
in the delivery of B2B Events focused on the clean energy sector. Total
consideration was £48.1m, of which £43.6m was paid in cash and £4.5m was
deferred cash consideration. The deferred consideration is payable 12 months
after the date of completion.
On 3 September 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of
IMN Limited (IMN). IMN is a U.S.-based organiser of institutional real estate
events, focusing primarily on the U.S. real estate market. Total consideration
was £95.0m ($125.2m), all of which was paid in cash.
On 9 October 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of
Ascential plc, parent company of the Ascential Group, and its subsidiaries
(collectively 'Ascential'). Ascential is a specialist events-led, intelligence
and advisory business and owner of the Cannes Lions and Money20/20 businesses.
Total consideration was £1,198.5m, all of which was paid in cash.
On 2 December 2024, the Group completed the transaction contemplated by its
definitive agreement with TechTarget, Inc. to contribute its Digital Tech
businesses, along with approximately £275.6m ($350m) in cash to TechTarget
shareholders to create Informa TechTarget, a leading growth accelerator to the
B2B technology sector. Upon closing of the transaction, Informa beneficially
owned a controlling holding of 57 percent of the outstanding share capital (on
a fully diluted basis) of Informa TechTarget with the former TechTarget
shareholders owning the remainder. Informa TechTarget shares are traded on
NASDAQ under TechTarget's previous name "TechTarget, Inc."
Disposals
During the year the Group disposed of its investments in both the Curinos and
Maritime businesses for overall cash consideration of £202.3m, excluding the
impact of any further consideration received upon a subsequent sale of the
Curinos business.
Share Buyback
In the year ended 31 December 2024, £428.2m of shares were repurchased with
51.5m shares cancelled. Cumulatively, since the programme started, £1,489.5m
of shares had been repurchased with 217.6m shares cancelled by 31 December
2024. The shares acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024 were at an
average price of 831p per share, with prices ranging from 726p to 871p.
Pensions
The Group continues to meet all commitments to its pension schemes, which
include five (2023: five) defined benefit schemes, all of which are closed to
future accruals.
At 31 December 2024, the Group had a net pension surplus of £42.7m (31
December 2023: £41.7m), comprising a pension surplus of £48.5m (31 December
2023: £48.1m) and pension deficits of £5.8m (31 December 2023: £6.4m).
Gross liabilities were £439.9m at 31 December 2024 (31 December 2023:
£478.2m).
Consolidated Income Statement
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Adjusted results Adjusting items Statutory results Adjusted results Adjusting items Statutory results
2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) (audited) (audited)
Notes £m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 3 3,553.1 - 3,553.1 3,189.6 - 3,189.6
Net operating expenses 5 (2,560.9) (480.2) (3,041.1) (2,341.6) (432.1) (2,773.7)
Other operating income 5 - 29.5 29.5 - 87.6 87.6
Operating profit/(loss) before joint ventures and associates 992.2 (450.7) 541.5 848.0 (344.5) 503.5
Share of results of joint ventures and associates 2.8 (1.5) 1.3 5.8 (1.5) 4.3
Operating profit/(loss) 995.0 (452.2) 542.8 853.8 (346.0) 507.8
Fair value (loss)/gain on investments - (9.2) (9.2) - 1.3 1.3
(Loss)/profit on disposal of subsidiaries and operations - (24.1) (24.1) - 3.0 3.0
Finance income 7 12.9 - 12.9 47.4 - 47.4
Finance costs 8 (92.5) (22.6) (115.1) (66.6) (0.8) (67.4)
Profit/(loss) before tax 915.4 (508.1) 407.3 834.6 (342.5) 492.1
Tax (charge)/credit 9 (178.2) 137.3 (40.9) (156.4) 127.0 (29.4)
Profit/(loss) for the year 737.2 (370.8) 366.4 678.2 (215.5) 462.7
Attributable to:
- Equity holders of the Company 11 673.3 (375.6) 297.7 635.1 (216.1) 419.0
- Non-controlling interests 63.9 4.8 68.7 43.1 0.6 43.7
Earnings per share
- Basic (p) 11 50.4 22.3 45.6 30.1
- Diluted (p) 11 50.1 22.2 45.3 29.9
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
£m £m
Profit for the year 366.4 462.7
Items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Remeasurement of the net retirement benefit pension obligation (1.0) (11.8)
Total items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss (1.0) (11.8)
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Exchange gain/(loss) on translation of foreign operations 94.6 (351.5)
Exchange loss arising on disposal of foreign operations (17.3) -
Exchange gain on the deconsolidation of former subsidiaries 3.9 -
Net investment hedges:
(Loss)/gain on net investment hedges (80.3) 99.9
Cash flow hedges:
Fair value loss arising on hedging instruments (49.3) (28.2)
Less: gain reclassified to profit or loss 62.5 34.2
Movement in cost of hedging reserve (1.2) (6.7)
Tax charge relating to items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit (4.4) (1.2)
or loss
Total items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss 8.5 (253.5)
Other comprehensive income/(expense) for the year 7.5 (265.3)
Total comprehensive income for the year 373.9 197.4
Total comprehensive income attributable to:
- Equity holders of the company 302.2 155.4
- Non-controlling interests 71.7 42.0
373.9 197.4
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 31 December 2023 (audited)
Share capital(1) Share premium account Translation reserve Other reserves Retained earnings Total(2) Non- controlling interests Total equity
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
At 1 January 2023 1.4 1,878.6 175.5 1,928.2 3,168.4 7,152.1 314.2 7,466.3
Profit for the year - - - - 419.0 419.0 43.7 462.7
Exchange loss on translation of foreign operations - - (349.8) - - (349.8) (1.7) (351.5)
Gain/(loss) arising on net investment and cash flow hedges - - 99.9 (0.7) - 99.2 - 99.2
Actuarial loss on defined benefit pension schemes - - - - (11.8) (11.8) - (11.8)
Tax relating to components of other comprehensive income - - (1.2) - - (1.2) - (1.2)
Total comprehensive income for the year - - (251.1) (0.7) 407.2 155.4 42.0 197.4
Dividends to shareholders - - - - (176.6) (176.6) - (176.6)
Dividends to non-controlling interests - - - - - - (16.0) (16.0)
Share award expense - - - 19.6 - 19.6 - 19.6
Issue of share capital 0.1 - - 173.7 - 173.8 - 173.8
Shares for Trust purchase - - - (4.8) - (4.8) - (4.8)
Transfer of vested LTIPs - - - (11.1) 11.1 - - -
Share buyback(3) (0.1) - - (15.8) (548.3) (564.2) - (564.2)
Acquisition of non-controlling interests(4) - - - - - - 92.3 92.3
Transactions with non-controlling interests - - - - (8.3) (8.3) 3.6 (4.7)
Remeasurement of put call options - - - 1.5 - 1.5 - 1.5
At 31 December 2023 1.4 1,878.6 (75.6) 2,090.6 2,853.5 6,748.5 436.1 7,184.6
1. See Note 17
2. Total attributable to equity holders of the company
3. £548.3m of shares have been bought back during the period.
£15.9m represents the net movement in Informa's maximum liability for share
buybacks with Informa's broker through to the conclusion of the Company's
close period as at 31 December 2023
4. The acquisition of non-controlling interests includes
£87.2m relating to the Tarsus acquisition
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity continued
For the year ended 31 December 2024 (unaudited)
Share capital(1) Share premium account Translation reserve Other reserves Retained earnings Total(2) Non- controlling interests Total equity
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
At 31 December 2023 1.4 1,878.6 (75.6) 2,090.6 2,853.5 6,748.5 436.1 7,184.6
Profit for the year - - - - 297.7 297.7 68.7 366.4
Exchange gain on translation of foreign operations - - 91.6 - - 91.6 3.0 94.6
(Loss)/gain arising on net investment and cash flow hedges - - (80.3) 12.0 - (68.3) - (68.3)
Foreign exchange recycling of disposed entities - - (17.3) - - (17.3) - (17.3)
Exchange gain on the deconsolidation of former subsidiaries - - 3.9 - - 3.9 - 3.9
Actuarial loss on defined benefit pension schemes - - - - (1.0) (1.0) - (1.0)
Tax relating to components of other comprehensive income - - (4.4) - - (4.4) - (4.4)
Total comprehensive income for the year - - (6.5) 12.0 296.7 302.2 71.7 373.9
Dividends to shareholders - - - - (248.2) (248.2) - (248.2)
Dividends to non-controlling interests - - - - - - (31.4) (31.4)
Share award expense - - - 20.6 - 20.6 - 20.6
Issue of share capital - - - 37.5 - 37.5 - 37.5
Shares for Trust purchase - - - (5.4) - (5.4) - (5.4)
Transfer of vested LTIPs - - - (12.9) 12.9 - - -
Share buyback(3) (0.1) - - 90.9 (424.2) (333.4) - (333.4)
Deconsolidation of former subsidiaries - - - - 8.3 8.3 (41.4) (33.1)
Transfer to realised profit - - - (4.0) 4.0 - - -
Disposal of non-controlling interests - - - - (0.8) (0.8) (121.8) (122.6)
Acquisition of non-controlling interests(4) - - - - (41.7) (41.7) 518.9 477.2
Transactions with non-controlling interests - - - (0.6) - (0.6) 2.2 1.6
Remeasurement of put call options - - - (1.8) - (1.8) - (1.8)
At 31 December 2024 1.3 1,878.6 (82.1) 2,226.9 2,460.5 6,485.2 834.3 7,319.5
1. See Note 17
2. Total attributable to equity holders of the company
3. £424.2m (2023: £548.3m) of shares have been bought back
during the period. The maximum liability for share buybacks with Informa's
broker through to the conclusion of the Company's close period as at 31
December 2024 is nil (2023: £90.9m), given that the Group's share buyback
programme was paused in 2024
4. The acquisition of non-controlling interests includes
£518.6m relating to the TechTarget acquisition (Note 13)
Consolidated Balance Sheet
As at 31 December 2024
At 31 December At 31 December 2023
2024
Notes (unaudited) (audited)
£m £m
Non-current assets
Goodwill 12 7,787.0 6,629.8
Other intangible assets 3,810.9 3,140.9
Property and equipment 75.0 60.8
Right of use assets 209.4 211.1
Investments in joint ventures and associates 92.7 58.8
Other investments 186.5 260.8
Deferred tax assets 85.7 17.6
Retirement benefit surplus 48.5 48.1
Finance lease receivables 8.8 8.2
Other receivables 51.2 32.6
12,355.7 10,468.7
Current assets
Inventory 43.0 36.2
Trade and other receivables 717.0 546.9
Current tax asset 9 25.9 80.2
Cash and cash equivalents 484.3 389.3
Investments 61.8 -
Finance lease receivables 2.9 2.3
Derivative financial instruments 0.1 0.6
1,335.0 1,055.5
Total assets 13,690.7 11,524.2
Current liabilities
Borrowings 15 (909.3) -
Lease liabilities (34.4) (28.4)
Current tax liabilities 9 (128.5) (85.6)
Provisions (26.8) (38.1)
Contingent consideration and put call options (31.4) (28.6)
Trade and other payables (687.9) (635.7)
Deferred income (1,166.6) (972.8)
Derivative financial instruments (76.4) -
(3,061.3) (1,789.2)
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings 15 (2,298.3) (1,514.5)
Lease liabilities (243.7) (235.4)
Derivative financial instruments (127.8) (77.9)
Deferred tax liabilities 9 (593.4) (540.9)
Retirement benefit obligation (5.8) (6.4)
Provisions (15.3) (33.5)
Contingent consideration and put call options (14.9) (109.3)
Trade and other payables (5.4) (24.9)
Deferred income (5.3) (7.6)
(3,309.9) (2,550.4)
Total liabilities (6,371.2) (4,339.6)
Net assets 7,319.5 7,184.6
Share capital 17 1.3 1.4
Share premium 1,878.6 1,878.6
Translation reserve (82.1) (75.6)
Other reserves 2,226.9 2,090.6
Retained earnings 2,460.5 2,853.5
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 6,485.2 6,748.5
Non-controlling interest 834.3 436.1
Total equity 7,319.5 7,184.6
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Notes £m £m
Operating activities
Cash generated by operations 16 1,011.4 819.7
Income taxes paid (122.3) (112.4)
Interest paid (87.5) (87.1)
Net cash inflow from operating activities 801.6 620.2
Investing activities
Interest received 13.3 47.9
Dividends received from investments 1.4 1.4
Purchase of property and equipment (30.6) (27.5)
Purchase of intangible software assets (51.2) (55.1)
Product development costs additions (18.2) (11.2)
Purchase of intangibles related to titles, brands and customer relationships (8.2) (22.8)
Acquisition of subsidiaries and operations, net of cash acquired 13 (1,450.5) (596.7)
Acquisition of investments (6.7) (4.3)
Cash inflow/(outflow) from disposal of subsidiaries and operations 199.2 (16.0)
Finance lease receipts 2.4 1.3
Net cash outflow from investing activities (1,349.1) (683.0)
Financing activities
Dividends paid to shareholders 10 (248.2) (176.6)
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests 10 (31.0) (16.0)
Repayment of loans 14 (914.5) (393.9)
Repayment of borrowings acquired 14 (59.2) (443.9)
Proceeds from borrowings 14 2,379.1 -
Borrowing fees paid 14 (21.8) (1.2)
Loans from other parties 7.9 -
Acquisition of non-controlling interests (14.6) -
Repayment of principal lease liabilities 14 (26.7) (33.8)
Settlement of derivative liability associated with borrowings - (8.2)
Cash outflow from share buyback (428.2) (548.0)
Cash outflow from purchase of shares for Employee Share Trust (5.4) (4.8)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities 637.4 (1,626.4)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 89.9 (1,689.2)
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes 5.1 (47.3)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 389.3 2,125.8
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 484.3 389.3
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
1. General information
Informa PLC (the Company) is a company incorporated and domiciled in the
United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 and is listed on the London Stock
Exchange. The Company is a public company limited by shares and is registered
in England and Wales with registration number 08860726. The address of the
registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG.
These unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements, on pages 20 to
41, as at 31 December 2024 and for the year then ended comprise those of the
Company, its subsidiaries and its interests in joint ventures and associates
(together referred to as the Group).
These unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements are presented in
pounds sterling (GBP), which is the currency of the primary economic
environment in which the Group operates and the functional currency of the
Parent Company, Informa PLC.
2. Basis of Preparation
The unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended
31 December 2024 do not constitute the statutory financial statements for that
year, but are derived from the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year
ended 31 December 2024 which will be published on www.informa.com
(http://www.informa.com) . While the Consolidated Financial Statements in
these 2024 Preliminary Full Year Results have been prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), these results
do not in isolation contain sufficient information to comply with IFRS
disclosure requirements. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December
2024 will be finalised based on the information presented by the Directors in
this unaudited preliminary announcement.
The announcement of the 2024 Preliminary Full Year Results was approved on
behalf of the Directors on 6 March 2025. The unaudited preliminary
announcement does not constitute a dissemination of the annual financial
report and does not therefore need to meet the dissemination requirements for
annual financial reports. A separate dissemination announcement in accordance
with Disclosure and Transparency Rules (DTR) 6.3 will be made when the 2024
Annual Report and Accounts are published and made available on www.informa.com
(http://www.informa.com) .
To complete the going concern assessment, the Directors have modelled a base
case with sensitivities and a reverse stress test for the period to June 2026.
In modelling the base case, the Directors have assumed Group financial
performance is consistent with the guidance given for 2025, followed by
similar growth in the first half of 2026.
The reverse stress test shows that the Group can afford to lose 46% of its
revenue from 1 April 2025 to the end of June 2026 and maintain positive
liquidity headroom. This extremely remote scenario assumes no indirect cost
savings and that customer receipts are refunded with no further receipts
collected in the period.
Based on these results, the Directors believe the Group is well placed to
manage its financing and other business risks in a satisfactory way. The
Directors have been able to form a reasonable expectation that the Group has
adequate resources to continue in operation for at least 12 months from the
date of these unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements and
consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in
preparing these unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements.
No significant changes have been made to the accounting policies used in the
preparation of these unaudited preliminary Consolidated Financial Statements
with those applied by the Group in its Consolidated Financial Statements for
the year ended 31 December 2023, subject to new accounting standards, and will
be disclosed in full in the audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the
year ended 31 December 2024 which will be published on www.informa.com
(http://www.informa.com) . The adoption of the new standards, interpretations
and amendments did not lead to any changes to the Group's accounting policies
or have any material impact on the financial position or performance of the
Group.
3. Revenue
An analysis of the Group's revenue by type is set out below.
Year ended 31 December 2024 (unaudited)
Informa Markets Informa Informa Connect Taylor & Other(1)
Tech Francis Total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Exhibitor 1,392.4 98.6 132.7 - 9.5 1,633.2
Subscriptions 38.2 54.1 150.9 368.8 9.5 621.5
Transactional sales 6.0 28.1 43.3 327.6 19.3 424.3
Attendee 88.6 55.6 179.3 - 30.7 354.2
Marketing and advertising services 95.1 114.1 38.5 1.8 - 249.5
Sponsorship 102.7 73.4 86.3 - 8.0 270.4
Total 1,723.0 423.9 631.0 698.2 77.0 3,553.1
1. Other comprises the results of Ascential and TechTarget,
which were acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024 (see Note 13)
Year ended 31 December 2023 (audited)
Informa Informa Informa Taylor & Other(1)
Markets Tech Connect Francis Total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Exhibitor 1,309.4 85.1 103.8 - - 1,498.3
Subscriptions 34.8 58.7 144.0 346.1 - 583.6
Transactional sales 4.3 26.5 45.6 272.0 - 348.4
Attendee 74.8 54.4 164.8 - - 294.0
Marketing and advertising services 91.0 116.3 36.0 0.9 - 244.2
Sponsorship 79.0 55.7 86.4 - - 221.1
Total 1,593.3 396.7 580.6 619.0 - 3,189.6
1. Other comprises the results of Ascential and TechTarget,
which were acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024 (see Note 13)
4. Business segments
The Group has identified reportable segments based on financial information
used by the Directors in allocating resources and making strategic decisions.
We consider the chief operating decision maker to be the Executive Directors.
The Group's five identified reportable segments under IFRS 8 Operating
Segments are Informa Markets, Informa Tech, Informa Connect, Taylor &
Francis and Other. Other comprises the results of Ascential and TechTarget,
which were acquired during the year (see Note 13). There is no difference
between the Group's operating segments and the Group's reportable segments as
at year end.
Segment revenue and results
The Group's primary internal income statement performance measures are revenue
and adjusted operating profit. A reconciliation of adjusted operating profit
to statutory operating profit and profit before tax is provided below:
Year ended 31 December 2024 (unaudited)
Informa Markets Informa Tech Informa Connect Taylor & Francis Other(1) Total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 1,723.0 423.9 631.0 698.2 77.0 3,553.1
Adjusted operating profit before joint ventures and associates(2) 517.2 82.2 114.4 255.7 22.7 992.2
Share of adjusted results of joint ventures and associates 2.8 - - - - 2.8
Adjusted operating profit 520.0 82.2 114.4 255.7 22.7 995.0
Intangible asset amortisation(3) (173.5) (37.1) (54.1) (31.7) (13.2) (309.6)
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangibles (11.2) (0.9) (0.2) (16.2) - (28.5)
Impairment - IFRS 16 right of use assets (0.4) (1.5) (1.8) (0.3) (1.0) (5.0)
Acquisition costs (Note 6) (5.6) (0.7) (3.6) (1.5) (54.6) (66.0)
Integration costs (Note 6) (10.4) (17.0) (12.5) (1.0) (1.3) (42.2)
Restructuring and reorganisation costs (Note 6) (2.0) (1.4) (4.7) (2.5) (3.5) (14.1)
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (Note 6) 6.2 18.7 4.6 - - 29.5
Fair value loss on contingent consideration (Note 6) (4.4) - (11.9) - - (16.3)
Operating profit 318.7 42.3 30.2 202.5 (50.9) 542.8
Fair value loss on investments (9.2)
Loss on disposal of subsidiaries and operations (24.1)
Finance income (Note 7) 12.9
Finance costs (Note 8) (115.1)
Profit before tax 407.3
1. Other comprises the results of Ascential and TechTarget,
which were acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024 (see Note 13)
2. Adjusted operating profit before joint ventures and
associates included the following amounts for depreciation and other
amortisation: £34.6m for Informa Markets, £24.7m for Informa Connect, £8.8m
for Informa Tech, £21.5m for Taylor & Francis and £1.1m for Other
3. Excludes non-acquired intangible product development and
software amortisation
Year ended 31 December 2023 (audited)
Informa Markets Informa Tech Informa Connect Taylor & Francis Other(1) Total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Revenue 1,593.3 396.7 580.6 619.0 - 3,189.6
Adjusted operating profit before joint ventures and associates(2) 454.7 72.9 102.5 217.9 - 848.0
Share of adjusted results of joint ventures and associates 5.8 - - - - 5.8
Adjusted operating profit 460.5 72.9 102.5 217.9 - 853.8
Intangible asset amortisation(3) (179.0) (37.5) (43.4) (52.9) - (312.8)
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangibles (24.5) (0.3) (0.3) - - (25.1)
Reversal of impairment/(impairment) - IFRS 16 right of use assets 0.1 (0.3) 0.8 - - 0.6
Acquisition costs (Note 6) (15.7) (17.0) (19.7) (0.9) - (53.3)
Integration costs (Note 6) (8.3) (2.9) (8.5) - - (19.7)
Restructuring and reorganisation income/(costs) (Note 6) 1.8 1.1 (0.5) (13.4) - (11.0)
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (Note 6) - 82.4 5.2 - - 87.6
Fair value loss on contingent consideration (Note 6) (7.3) - (4.5) (0.2) - (12.0)
Foreign exchange loss on swap settlement (2.8) (0.7) (1.0) (1.1) - (5.6)
Credit in respect of unallocated cash 3.3 0.8 1.2 - - 5.3
Operating profit 228.1 98.5 31.8 149.4 - 507.8
Fair value gain on investments 1.3
Profit on disposal of subsidiaries and operations 3.0
Finance income (Note 7) 47.4
Finance costs (Note 8) (67.4)
Profit before tax 492.1
1. Other comprises the results of Ascential and TechTarget,
which were acquired during the year ended 31 December 2024 (see Note 13)
2. Adjusted operating profit before joint ventures and
associates included the following amounts for depreciation and other
amortisation: £33.7m for Informa Markets, £22.1m for Informa Connect, £6.9m
for Informa Tech and £18.2m for Taylor & Francis
3. Excludes non-acquired intangible product development and
software amortisation
5. Operating expenses and other operating income
Operating profit has been arrived at after charging/(crediting):
Adjusted results Adjusting items(1) Statutory results Adjusted results Adjusting items(1) Statutory results
2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) (audited) (audited)
£m £m £m £m £m £m
Cost of sales (excluding staff costs, depreciation and adjusting items) 1,220.9 - 1,220.9 1,123.7 - 1,123.7
Staff costs 984.0 - 984.0 900.6 - 900.6
Auditor's remuneration for audit services 10.1 - 10.1 6.3 - 6.3
Amortisation of other intangible assets 46.1 309.6 355.7 41.1 312.8 353.9
Depreciation - property and equipment 17.5 - 17.5 13.5 - 13.5
Depreciation - IFRS 16 right of use assets 27.1 - 27.1 26.3 - 26.3
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangibles - 28.5 28.5 - 25.1 25.1
Impairment/(reversal of impairment) - IFRS 16 right of use assets - 5.0 5.0 - (0.6) (0.6)
Acquisition costs (Note 6) - 66.0 66.0 - 53.3 53.3
Integration costs (Note 6) - 40.7 40.7 - 18.2 18.2
Restructuring and reorganisation costs (Note 6) - 14.1 14.1 - 11.0 11.0
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (Note 6) - (29.5) (29.5) - (87.6) (87.6)
Fair value loss on contingent consideration (Note 6) - 16.3 16.3 - 12.0 12.0
Net foreign exchange loss (Note 6) 5.5 - 5.5 7.6 5.6 13.2
Credit in respect of unallocated cash - - - - (5.3) (5.3)
(Note 6)
Other operating expenses 249.7 - 249.7 222.5 - 222.5
Total net operating expenses and other operating income before share of joint 2,560.9 450.7 3,011.6 2,341.6 344.5 2,686.1
ventures and associates
1. This excludes adjusting items relating to joint ventures
and associates
6. Adjusting items
The Board considers certain items should be recognised as adjusting items (see
Glossary on page 42) since, due to their size, nature or infrequency, such
presentation is relevant to an understanding of the Group's performance. These
items do not relate to the Group's underlying trading and are adjusted to
facilitate a comparative understanding of the Group's adjusted operating
profit measure.
The following charges/(credits) are presented as adjusting items:
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Notes £m £m
Intangible asset amortisation(1) 309.6 312.8
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangible assets 28.5 25.1
Impairment/(reversal of impairment) - IFRS 16 right of use assets 5.0 (0.6)
Acquisition costs 66.0 53.3
Integration costs 42.2 19.7
Restructuring and reorganisation costs 14.1 11.0
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (29.5) (87.6)
Fair value loss on contingent consideration 16.3 12.0
Foreign exchange loss on swap settlement - 5.6
Credit in respect of unallocated cash - (5.3)
Adjusting items in operating profit or loss(2) 452.2 346.0
Fair value loss/(gain) on investments 9.2 (1.3)
Loss/(profit) on disposal of subsidiaries and operations 24.1 (3.0)
Finance costs 8 22.6 0.8
Adjusting items in profit before tax 508.1 342.5
Tax related to adjusting items 9 (137.3) (127.0)
Adjusting items in profit for the year 370.8 215.5
1. Intangible asset amortisation is in respect of acquired
intangibles and excludes amortisation of software and non-acquired product
development of £46.1m (2023: £41.1m)
2. Includes £1.5m (2023: £1.5m) relating to joint ventures
and associates
Further descriptions of the above adjusting items:
● Intangible asset amortisation is the amortisation charged in
respect of intangible assets, including product development, acquired through
business combinations or the acquisition of trade and assets. The charge is
not considered to be related to the underlying performance of the Group and it
can fluctuate materially period-on-period as and when new businesses are
acquired or disposed of. Revenue and results from the related business
combinations have been included within the adjusted results.
● Impairment of acquisition-related intangible assets is the
impairment charged as a result of the annual impairment test or more
frequently when an indicator exists.
● Impairment of right of use assets is the impairment charged as a
result of an impairment indicator. Reversal of impairment of right of use
assets mainly relates to the reopening of previously impaired office
properties.
● Acquisition and integration costs are costs incurred in
acquiring and integrating share and asset acquisitions as part of M&A
activity.
● Restructuring and reorganisation costs are charges incurred by
the Group in business restructuring, operating model changes and non-recurring
legal costs. These costs relate to specific initiatives following reviews of
our organisational operations.
● Fair value (gains)/losses on contingent consideration arise as a
result of acquisitions. The fair value remeasurement is recognised in the
period as charges or credits to the Consolidated Income Statement, unless
these qualify as measurement period adjustments arising within one year from
the acquisition date.
● Foreign exchange losses on swap settlements are one-off and
infrequent in nature.
● Credit in respect of unallocated cash relates to a change to the
period that unapplied and unallocated cash receipts will be held on the
Consolidated Balance Sheet in certain territories before being released to the
Consolidated Income Statement. The balance recognised in adjusting items
comprises of balances that would have been released in prior periods, under
the revised methodology, and is not expected to recur as an adjusting item.
● Fair value loss/(gain) on investments is the loss, or gain, as a
result of a decrease, or increase, in the fair value of investments held.
● Loss/(profit) on disposal of subsidiaries and operations relates
to disposals in the current period or subsequent costs/credits relating to
prior disposals.
● Finance costs relate to charges incurred specifically for
arranging financing in respect of share and asset acquisitions as part of
M&A activity.
● The tax items relate to the tax effect on the items above and
adjusting tax items which are analysed in Note 9.
7. Finance income
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
£m £m
Interest income on bank deposits 12.1 46.7
Interest income from finance lessor leases 0.4 0.4
Fair value gain on financial instruments 0.4 0.3
Total finance income 12.9 47.4
8. Finance costs
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Notes £m £m
Interest expense on borrowings and loans(1) 79.4 58.2
Interest on lease liabilities 13.3 11.2
Interest income on pension scheme net surplus (1.9) (1.8)
Total interest expense 90.8 67.6
Other 1.7 (1.0)
Financing costs before adjusting items 92.5 66.6
Adjusting items(2) 6 22.6 0.8
Total finance costs 115.1 67.4
1. Included in interest expense above is the amortisation of
debt issue costs of £2.8m (2023: £2.7m)
2. The adjusting items for finance costs relate to fair value
losses on derivative contracts executed in expectation of the October 2024
EMTN issuance and fees on the Ascential acquisition bridge facility. The
adjusting item for finance costs in 2023 relates to the revaluation of the
BolognaFiere convertible bond
9. Taxation
The tax charge comprises:
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
£m £m
Current tax:
Current year
UK 24.0 33.2
Continental Europe 28.7 26.0
US 71.6 (10.5)
China 35.4 25.6
Rest of world 32.5 25.1
Prior years 30.5 (25.1)
Total current tax 222.7 74.3
Deferred tax:
Current year (105.6) (36.3)
Prior years (79.0) (6.6)
Charge/(credit) arising from tax rate changes 2.8 (2.0)
Total deferred tax (181.8) (44.9)
Total tax charge 40.9 29.4
The tax on adjusting items within the Consolidated Income Statement relates to
the following:
Gross Tax Gross Tax
2024 2024 2023 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) (audited)
Notes £m £m £m £m
Intangible assets amortisation 6 (309.6) 72.6 (312.8) 76.8
Benefit of goodwill amortisation for tax purposes only - (16.0) - (14.5)
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangible assets 6 (28.5) 7.1 (25.1) 6.4
(Impairment)/reversal of impairment - IFRS 16 right of use assets 6 (5.0) 1.3 0.6 (0.1)
Acquisition and integration-related costs 6 (108.2) 9.9 (73.0) 22.5
Restructuring and reorganisation costs 6 (14.1) 3.3 (11.0) 2.7
Fair value gain on contingent consideration 6 29.5 - 87.6 -
Fair value loss on contingent consideration 6 (16.3) - (12.0) -
Foreign exchange loss on swap settlement 6 - - (5.6) 1.3
Credit in respect of unallocated cash 6 - - 5.3 (1.2)
Fair value (loss)/gain on investments 6 (9.2) (0.1) 1.3 1.5
(Loss)/profit on disposal of subsidiaries and operations 6 (24.1) (28.1) 3.0 -
Finance costs 6 (22.6) 1.7 (0.8) 0.2
Movement in deferred tax asset on Luxembourg losses - 66.9 - 15.9
Adjustments for prior years - 18.7 - 15.5
Total tax on adjusting items (508.1) 137.3 (342.5) 127.0
The current and deferred tax charges are calculated on the estimated
assessable profit for the year. Taxation is calculated in each jurisdiction
based on the prevailing rates of that jurisdiction. A reconciliation of the
actual tax expense to the expected tax expense at the applicable statutory
rate is shown below:
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
£m % £m %
Profit before tax 407.3 492.1
Tax charge at effective UK statutory rate of 25% (2023: 23.5%) 101.8 25.0 115.6 23.5
Different tax rates on overseas profits 0.1 - 4.4 0.9
Disposal-related items(1) 34.3 8.4 (1.0) (0.2)
Acquisition-related items 16.9 4.1 (5.2) (1.1)
Non-deductible expenditure 22.9 5.6 10.7 2.1
Non-taxable income (9.9) (2.4) (27.8) (5.6)
Benefits from financing structures (9.6) (2.4) (8.1) (1.6)
Tax incentives (3.5) (0.9) (1.4) (0.3)
Adjustments for prior years(2) (48.5) (11.9) (31.7) (6.4)
Net movement in provisions for uncertain tax positions(3) (2.6) (0.6) (11.6) (2.4)
Impact of changes in tax rates 2.8 0.7 (2.0) (0.4)
Recognition of deferred tax asset on Luxembourg losses(4) (66.9) (16.4) (15.9) (3.2)
Movements in other deferred tax not recognised 3.1 0.8 3.4 0.7
Tax charge and effective rate for the year 40.9 10.0 29.4 6.0
1. Disposal related items relate to the difference between a
loss for accounting and a gain for tax purposes on the disposal of
subsidiaries and operations
2. Adjustments for prior years incorporate refinements to tax
computations made on submission or resubmission and agreement with tax
authorities
3. The net movement in provisions for uncertain tax positions
reflects management's reassessment of the provisions required in relation to
historical tax exposures
4. Additional deferred tax has been recognised in relation to
Luxembourg losses as, based on the Group's current forecasts, it is now
expected that there will be taxable profits against which they can be utilised
In addition to the income tax charge in the Consolidated Income Statement, a
tax charge of £4.4m (2023: £1.2m) has been recognised directly in the
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income during the year.
Current tax liabilities include £45.0m (2023: £43.6m) in respect of
provisions for uncertain tax positions.
On 11 July 2023, the UK Government enacted the Pillar Two income taxes
legislation, effective for the financial year beginning 1 January 2024. Under
the legislation, Informa PLC is required to pay, in the UK, top-up tax on
profits of its subsidiaries and permanent establishments that are taxed at a
Pillar Two effective tax rate of less than 15%.
The Group has performed an assessment of the exposure to Pillar 2 income taxes
in 2024. Based on this assessment, the majority of entities fall within the
transitional safe harbours or have a simplified effective tax rate of more
than 15%. However, there are a limited number of jurisdictions where the
transitional safe harbour relief may not apply and the Pillar Two effective
tax rate is below 15%. The Group has recognised a £6.6m tax charge for the
year in relation to this.
10. Dividends
2024 2024 2023 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) (audited)
Pence per share Pence per share
£m £m
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 - - 5.8 80.9
Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 - - 12.2 163.6
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 6.4 84.6 - -
Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 13.6 180.9 - -
Total dividend for the year 20.0 265.5 18.0 244.5
As at 31 December 2024 £0.3m (2023: £0.3m) of dividends were still to be
paid, and total dividend payments in the year were £248.2m (2023: £176.6m).
The proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 of 13.6p
(2023: 12.2p) per share is subject to approval of Shareholders at the Annual
General Meeting and has not been included as a liability in these Consolidated
Financial Statements. The payment of this dividend will not have any tax
consequences for the Group.
In the year ended 31 December 2024 there were dividend payments of £31.0m
(2023: £16.0m) to non-controlling interests.
11. Earnings per share
Basic
The basic earnings per share (EPS) calculation is based on the profit/(loss)
attributable to the equity holders of the Parent Company divided by the
weighted average number of shares in issue less those shares held by the
Employee Share Trust and ShareMatch.
Diluted
The diluted EPS calculation is based on the basic EPS calculation above except
that the weighted average number of shares includes all potentially dilutive
options granted by the reporting date as if those options had been exercised
on the first day of the accounting period or the date of the grant, if later.
In 2024 there were no (2023: nil) potential ordinary shares which were
anti-dilutive and therefore excluded from the weighted average number of
ordinary shares for the purpose of calculating diluted EPS.
Weighted average number of shares
The table below sets out the adjustment in respect of dilutive potential
ordinary shares for use in the calculation of diluted EPS and diluted adjusted
EPS:
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Weighted average number of shares used in basic and adjusted basic earnings 1,335,773,495 1,394,051,260
per share
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares 8,218,817 8,670,882
Weighted average number of shares used in diluted and adjusted diluted 1,343,992,312 1,402,722,142
earnings per share
Statutory earnings per share Earnings 2024 Per share amount 2024 Earnings Per share amount 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) 2023 (audited)
(audited)
£m Pence £m Pence
Profit for the year 366.4 462.7
Non-controlling interests (68.7) (43.7)
Earnings and EPS for the purpose of statutory basic EPS 297.7 22.3 419.0 30.1
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares (p) - (0.1) - (0.2)
Earnings and EPS for the purpose of statutory diluted EPS 297.7 22.2 419.0 29.9
( )
( )
Adjusted earnings per share
In addition to basic EPS, adjusted diluted EPS has been calculated to provide
useful additional information on underlying earnings performance. Adjusted
diluted EPS is based on profit attributable to equity holders which has been
adjusted to exclude items that, in the opinion of the Directors, would distort
underlying results (see Note 6).
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
Adjusted earnings per share Earnings 2024 Per share amount 2024 Earnings Per share amount 2023
(unaudited) (unaudited) 2023 (audited)
(audited)
£m Pence £m Pence
Earnings and EPS for the purpose of statutory basic EPS 297.7 22.3 419.0 30.1
Intangible asset amortisation 309.6 23.2 312.8 22.4
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangible assets 28.5 2.1 25.1 1.8
Impairment/(reversal of impairment) - IFRS 16 right of use assets 5.0 0.3 (0.6) -
Acquisition costs 66.0 4.9 53.3 3.8
Integration costs 42.2 3.2 19.7 1.4
Restructuring and reorganisation costs 14.1 1.1 11.0 0.8
Fair value gain on contingent consideration (29.5) (2.2) (87.6) (6.3)
Fair value loss on contingent consideration 16.3 1.2 12.0 0.9
Foreign exchange loss on swap settlement - - 5.6 0.4
Credit in respect of unallocated cash - - (5.3) (0.4)
Fair value loss/(gain) on investments 9.2 0.7 (1.3) (0.1)
Loss/(profit) on disposal of subsidiaries and operations 24.1 1.8 (3.0) (0.2)
Finance costs 22.6 1.7 0.8 0.1
Tax related to adjusting items (137.3) (10.3) (127.0) (9.1)
Non-controlling interest adjusting items 4.8 0.4 0.6 -
Earnings and EPS for the purpose of adjusted basic EPS 673.3 50.4 635.1 45.6
Effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares - (0.3) - (0.3)
Earnings and EPS for the purpose of adjusted diluted EPS 50.1 635.1 45.3
673.3
12. Goodwill
£m
Cost
At 1 January 2023 6,559.2
Additions in the year 998.1
Exchange differences (275.7)
At 31 December 2023 (audited) 7,281.6
Additions in the year 1,381.3
Disposals (228.8)
Deconsolidation of former subsidiaries (37.6)
Exchange differences 32.6
At 31 December 2024 (unaudited) 8,429.1
Accumulated impairment losses
At 1 January 2023 (678.9)
Exchange differences 27.1
At 31 December 2023 (audited) (651.8)
Exchange differences 9.7
At 31 December 2024 (unaudited) (642.1)
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024 (unaudited) 7,787.0
At 31 December 2023 (audited) 6,629.8
13. Business combinations
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Cash paid on acquisitions, net of cash acquired £m £m
Current year acquisitions
Solar Media 37.4 -
IMN 95.0 -
Ascential 1,169.0 -
TechTarget 59.2 -
Other 44.7 -
Prior year acquisitions including deferred and contingent payments
Tarsus 3.7 144.3
Winsight 12.1 296.8
HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition - 84.0
Canalys 3.9 37.7
LSX 2.7 7.5
Future Science Group 1.2 22.4
Black Arts - 2.2
Industry Dive 18.7 -
Premiere Shows 2.9 -
Other - 1.8
Total cash paid in year, net of cash acquired 1,450.5 596.7
Solar Media
On 4 April 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Solar
Media Limited (Solar Media). Solar Media is a UK-based media company
specialising in the delivery of live events focussed on the clean energy
sector. Solar Media is part of Informa Markets. Total consideration was
£48.1m, of which £43.6m was paid in cash and £4.5m was deferred cash
consideration. The deferred consideration is payable 12 months after the date
of completion.
IMN
On 3 September 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of
IMN Limited (IMN). IMN is a U.S.-based organiser of institutional real estate
events, focusing primarily on the U.S. real estate market. IMN is part of
Informa Connect. Total consideration was $125.2m (£95.0m), all of which was
paid in cash.
Ascential
On 9 October 2024, the Group acquired 100% of the issued share capital of
Ascential plc, parent company of the Ascential Group, and its subsidiaries
(collectively 'Ascential'). Ascential is a specialist events-led, intelligence
and advisory business and owner of the Lions and Money20/20 businesses. Total
consideration was £1,198.5m, all of which was paid in cash.
TechTarget
On 2 December 2024, the Group completed the transaction contemplated by its
definitive agreement with TechTarget, Inc. (TechTarget) to contribute the
Informa Digital Tech businesses, along with £275.6m ($350.0m) in cash to
TechTarget shareholders to create "New TechTarget" a leading growth
accelerator to the B2B technology sector (defined as Informa TechTarget). Upon
the closing of the transaction, Informa beneficially owned a controlling
holding of 57% of the outstanding share capital (on a fully diluted basis) of
Informa TechTarget and former TechTarget shareholders owned the remaining
outstanding shares of Informa TechTarget. Informa TechTarget shares are traded
on NASDAQ under TechTarget's previous name "TechTarget, Inc."
14. Movements in net debt
Net debt consists of cash and cash equivalents and includes bank overdrafts
when applicable, borrowings, derivatives associated with debt instruments,
finance leases, lease liabilities, deferred borrowing fees and other loan note
receivables (excluding fair value through profit or loss items and amounts
held in escrow) where these are interest bearing and do not relate to deferred
contingent arrangements.
At 1 January 2024 Non-cash movements Cash flow Exchange movements At 31 December 2024
(unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited)
£m £m £m £m £m
Cash and cash equivalents 389.3 - 89.9 5.1 484.3
Other financing assets
Finance lease receivables 10.5 3.8 (2.4) (0.2) 11.7
Total other financing assets 10.5 3.8 (2.4) (0.2) 11.7
Other financing liabilities
Bond borrowings due in more than one year (1,492.6) 606.5 (1,464.6) 33.0 (2,317.7)
Bond borrowings due in less than one year - (608.2) - 27.6 (580.6)
Bond borrowing fees 6.2 (2.8) 13.4 (0.4) 16.4
Bank loans due in more than one year(1, 2) (30.4) 38.3 - (7.9) -
Bank loan fees due in more than one year 2.3 (7.1) 8.4 0.2 3.8
Acquired debt (Note 15) - (384.9) 59.2 (3.8) (329.5)
Derivative liabilities associated with borrowings due in more than one year (77.9) (49.9) - - (127.8)
Derivative liabilities associated with borrowings due in less than one year - (76.4) - - (76.4)
Lease liabilities (263.8) (37.8) 26.7 (3.2) (278.1)
Loans received from other parties(3) - - (7.9) - (7.9)
Total other financing liabilities (1,856.2) (522.3) (1,364.8) 45.5 (3,697.8)
Total net financing liabilities (1,845.7) (518.5) (1,367.2) 45.3 (3,686.1)
Net debt (1,456.4) (518.5) (1,277.3) 50.4 (3,201.8)
1. Bank loans include the Curinos debt acquired as part of the
Novantas transaction in 2021. On 24 December 2024, the Group disposed of the
Curinos business
2. Bank loans include the non-current revolving credit
facility, of which £914.5m was drawdown and repaid within the year
3. Loans received from other parties are included within
current other payables
15. Borrowings
Total borrowings, excluding derivative assets and liabilities associated with
borrowings, are as follows:
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
£m £m
Current
Convertible notes 329.5 -
Bank borrowings 329.5 -
Euro Medium Term Note (€700.0m) - due October 2025 580.6 -
Euro Medium Term Note issue costs (0.8) -
Euro Medium Term Note borrowings 579.8 -
Total current borrowings 909.3 -
Non-current
Bank borrowings - other - 30.4
Bank debt issue costs (3.8) (2.3)
Bank borrowings (3.8) 28.1
Euro Medium Term Note (€700.0m) - due October 2025 - 608.2
Euro Medium Term Note (£450.0m) - due July 2026 450.0 450.0
Euro Medium Term Note (€600.0m) - due October 2027 497.6 -
Euro Medium Term Note (€500.0m) - due April 2028 414.7 434.4
Euro Medium Term Note (€650.0m) - due October 2030 540.7 -
Euro Medium Term Note (€500.0m) - due October 2034 414.7 -
Euro Medium Term Note issue costs (15.6) (6.2)
Euro Medium Term Note borrowings 2,302.1 1,486.4
Total non-current borrowings 2,298.3 1,514.5
Total borrowings 3,207.6 1,514.5
Borrowings do not have any financial covenants and do not contain any pledge
of its property and equipment and other intangible assets as security over
loans.
The Group issued the following Euro Medium Term Notes on 23 October 2024 at a
discount to their respective notional values as follows:
· A 3-year fixed term note, until 23 October 2027, of €599.5m
(notional value €600m)
· A 6-year fixed term note, until 23 October 2030, of €647.1m
(notional value €650m)
· A 10-year fixed term note, until 23 October 2034, of €498.0m
(notional value €500m)
Convertible notes were acquired as part of the TechTarget acquisition (see
Note 13). Upon acquisition, the Group was required to offer to repurchase the
notes for cash at a purchase price equal to 100% of the aggregate principal
amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest to 24 January 2025.
The average debt maturity on our drawn borrowings is currently 3.4 years
(2023: 2.7 years). The Group maintains the following lines of credit:
● £1,050.0m (2023: £1,050.0m) non-current revolving credit
facility, of which £nil (2023: £nil) was drawn down at 31 December 2024.
Interest is payable at SONIA or Term SOFR plus a margin
● £41.0m (2023: £23.2m) comprising a number of bilateral
uncommitted bank facilities that can be drawn to meet short-term financing
needs, of which £0.2m (2023: £nil) was drawn at 31 December 2024. These
facilities consist of £10.0m (2023: £10.0m), USD 22.8m (2023: USD 12.8m),
AUD 1.0m (2023: AUD 1.0m), CAD 2.0m (2023: CAD 2.0m) and SGD 1.0m (2023: SGD
2.3m), JPY 20.0m (2023: nil), BHD 0.3m (2023: nil), AED 30.0m (2023: nil) and
INR 360.0m (2023: nil). Interest is payable at the local base rate plus a
margin
● Four bank guarantee facilities comprising in aggregate up to USD
10.0m (2023: USD 10.0m), €0.9m (2023: €0.9m), £14.0m (2023: £14.0m) and
INR 25.0m (2023: nil)
The effective interest rate on total borrowings for the year ended 31 December
2024 was 3.7% (2023: 3.4%).
16. Notes to the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Notes £m £m
Profit before tax 407.3 492.1
Adjustments for:
Amortisation of other intangible assets 355.7 353.9
Depreciation of property and equipment 17.5 13.5
Depreciation of right of use assets 27.1 26.3
Impairment - acquisition-related and other intangible assets 28.5 25.1
Impairment/(reversal of impairment) - IFRS 16 right of use assets 5.0 (0.6)
Share-based payments 22.2 20.8
Fair value gain on contingent consideration 6 (29.5) (87.6)
Fair value loss on contingent consideration 6 16.3 12.0
Lease modifications 1.3 (5.1)
Loss/(profit) on disposal of subsidiaries and operations 6 24.1 (3.0)
Loss on disposal of property, equipment and software 0.1 2.4
Fair value loss/(gain) on investment 6 9.2 (1.3)
Finance income 7 (12.9) (47.4)
Finance costs 8 115.1 67.4
Share of adjusted results of joint ventures and associates (2.8) (5.8)
Net exchange differences 0.9 -
Operating cash inflow before movements in working capital 985.1 862.7
Increase in inventories (6.8) (7.4)
Increase in receivables (174.4) (16.1)
Increase/(decrease) in payables 208.6 (16.0)
Movements in working capital 27.4 (39.5)
Pension deficit recovery contributions (1.1) (3.5)
Cash generated by operations 1,011.4 819.7
17. Share capital
Share capital as at 31 December 2024 amounted to £1.3m (2023: £1.4m).
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
£m £m
Issued, authorised and fully paid
1,330,244,733 (2023: 1,368,029,699) ordinary shares of 0.1p each 1.3 1.4
2024 2023
(unaudited) (audited)
Number of shares Number of shares
At 1 January 1,368,029,699 1,418,525,746
Issue of new shares to Employee Share Trust 8,860,000 -
Issue of shares 4,397,622 26,492,800
Share buyback (51,042,588) (76,988,847)
At 31 December 1,330,244,733 1,368,029,699
The Group issued 8,860,000 new ordinary shares of 0.1p pence each to the
Employee Share Trust on 9 January 2024.
The Group issued 4,397,622 new ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each on 16 May
2024. The shares were issued as deferred consideration for the acquisition of
the Tarsus group of companies.
During 2024, the Group bought back 51,042,588 ordinary shares (2023:
76,988,847) at the nominal value of 0.1p for a total consideration of £424.2m
(2023: £548.3m) and cancelled 51,554,769 ordinary shares (2023: 76,476,666).
This includes 512,181 (2023: 599,861) shares that had been bought in the prior
year and settled and cancelled in 2024 for consideration of £4.0m (2023:
£3.7m).
18. Post balance sheet events
On 6 March 2025, Informa entered into an agreement with Dubai World Trade
Centre to combine assets through a strategic partnership to create Informa
International. Informa will hold a position that allows it to consolidate the
business.
Glossary of Terms: Alternative Performance Measures
The Group provides adjusted results and underlying measures in addition to
statutory measures, in order to provide additional useful information on
business performance trends to Shareholders. The Board considers these
non-GAAP measures to be a useful and alternative way to measure the Group's
performance in a way that is comparable to the prior year.
The terms 'adjusted' and 'underlying' are not defined terms under IFRS and may
not therefore be comparable with similarly titled measurements reported by
other companies. These measures are not intended to be a substitute for, or
superior to, IFRS measurements. The Financial Review provides reconciliations
of alternative performance measures (APMs) to statutory measures and also
provides the basis of calculation for certain APM metrics. These APMs are
provided on a consistent basis with the prior year.
Adjusted results and adjusting items
Adjusted results exclude items that are commonly excluded across the media
sector: amortisation and impairment of goodwill and intangible assets relating
to businesses acquired and other intangible asset purchases of book lists,
journal titles, acquired databases and brands related to exhibitions and
conferences, acquisition and integration costs, profit or loss on disposal of
businesses, restructuring costs and other items that in the opinion of the
Directors would impact the comparability of underlying results. Adjusting
items are detailed in Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Adjusted results are prepared for the following measures which are provided in
the Consolidated Income Statement on page 20: adjusted operating profit,
adjusted net finance costs, adjusted profit before tax (PBT), adjusted tax
charge, adjusted profit after tax, adjusted earnings, and adjusted diluted
earnings per share. Adjusted operating margin, effective tax rate on adjusted
profits and adjusted EBITDA are used in the Financial Review on pages 10, 12
and 15 respectively.
Adjusted EBITDA
● Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation,
amortisation and other non-cash items such as share-based payments and before
adjusting items. The full reconciliation and definition of adjusted EBITDA is
provided in the Financial Review.
● Covenant-adjusted EBITDA for Informa interest cover purposes under
the Group's previous financial covenants on debt facilities is earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and adjusting items. It is
adjusted to be on a pre-IFRS 16 basis.
● Covenant-adjusted EBITDA for Informa leverage purposes under the
Group's previous financial covenants on debt facilities is earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and adjusting items. It is
adjusted to include a full year's trading for acquisitions and remove trading
results for disposals, and to be on a pre-IFRS 16 basis.
Adjusted EBITDA margin
Adjusted EBITDA margin is shown as a percentage and is calculated by dividing
Adjusted EBITDA by revenue, which is provided as an additional useful metric
to readers.
Adjusted effective tax rate
The adjusted effective tax rate is shown as a percentage and is calculated by
dividing the adjusted tax charge by the adjusted profit before tax. The
Financial Review on page 12 shows the calculation of the adjusted effective
tax rate, which is provided as an additional useful metric for readers on the
Group's tax position.
Adjusted net debt
Adjusted net debt for Informa leverage purposes under the Group's previous
financial covenants on debt facilities is translated using average exchange
rates for the 12-month period and is adjusted to include deferred
consideration payable, to exclude derivatives associated with borrowings and
to be on a pre-IFRS 16 basis.
Adjusted operating margin
The adjusted operating margin is shown as a percentage and is calculated by
dividing adjusted operating profit by revenue. The Financial Review on page 10
shows the calculation of the adjusted operating margin, which is provided as
an additional useful metric on underlying performance to readers.
Adjusted tax charge
The adjusted tax charge excludes the tax effects of adjusting items, deferred
tax movements relating to tax losses in Luxembourg as well as other
significant one-off items. It includes the allowable tax benefit for goodwill
amortisation in the US and elsewhere.
Dividend cover
Dividend cover is the ratio of adjusted diluted earnings per share to
dividends per share for the year and is provided to enable year-on-year
comparability on the level at which dividends are covered by earnings.
Dividends consist of the interim dividend that has been paid for the year and
the proposed final dividend for the year. Diluted earnings per share are
adjusted to be stated before adjusting items impacting earnings per share. The
Financial Review on page 14 provides the calculation of dividend cover.
Dividend payout ratio
This is the ratio of the total amount of dividends per share paid and proposed
to Shareholders relating to a financial year relative to the adjusted diluted
earnings per share on continuing operations for the year. The dividend payout
ratio is shown on page 14 of the Financial Review.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow is a key financial measure of cash generation and represents
the cash flow generated by the business before cash flows relating to
acquisitions and disposals and their related costs, dividends, any new equity
issuance or repurchases of own shares and debt issues or repayments. Free cash
flow is one of the Group's key performance indicators, and is an indicator of
operational efficiency and financial discipline, illustrating the capacity to
reinvest, fund future dividends and repay debt. The Financial Review on page
15 provides a reconciliation of free cash flow to statutory measures.
Informa interest cover
Informa interest cover is calculated according to the Group's previous
financial covenants on debt facilities and is the ratio of covenant-adjusted
EBITDA for interest cover purposes to adjusted net finance costs and excluding
finance fair value items. It is provided to enable the assessment of our debt
position together with our compliance with these previous specific debt
covenants. The Financial Review on page 18 provides the basis of the
calculation of Informa interest cover.
Informa leverage ratio
The Informa leverage ratio is calculated according to the Group's previous
financial covenants on debt facilities and is the ratio of net debt to
covenant-adjusted EBITDA for Informa leverage information purposes and is
provided to enable the assessment of our debt position together with
compliance with these previous specific debt covenants. The Financial Review
on page 18 provides the basis of the calculation of the Informa leverage
ratio.
Net debt
Net debt consists of cash and cash equivalents, and includes bank overdrafts
(where applicable), borrowings, derivatives associated with debt instruments,
finance leases, lease liabilities, deferred borrowing fees and other loan
receivables or loan payables where these are interest bearing and do not
relate to deferred consideration arrangements for acquisitions or disposals.
Operating cash flow and operating cash flow conversion
Operating cash flow is a financial measure used to determine the efficiency of
cash flow generation in the business and is measured by and represents free
cash flow before interest, tax, restructuring and reorganisation costs. The
Financial Review on page 16 reconciles operating cash flow to statutory
measures.
Operating cash flow conversion is a measure of the strength of cash generation
in the business and is measured as a percentage by dividing operating cash
flow by adjusted operating profit in the reporting period. The Financial
Review on page 16 provides the calculation of operating cash flow conversion.
Pro-forma
The 12-month 2024 pro-forma financials for the new Informa divisional
structure in place from 2025. This reflects recently acquired businesses,
including Ascential and TechTarget, and excludes the recently divested Curinos
business as if the acquisitions, or disposal, had occurred on 1 January 2024.
Underlying revenue and underlying adjusted operating profit
Underlying revenue and underlying adjusted operating profit refer to results
adjusted for acquisitions and disposals, the phasing of events, including
biennials, the impact of changes from implementing new accounting standards
and accounting policy changes and the effects of changes in foreign currency
by adjusting the current year and prior year amounts to use consistent
currency exchange rates.
Phasing and biennial adjustments relate to the alignment of comparative period
amounts to the usual scheduling cycle of events in the current year. Where an
event originally scheduled for 2023 or 2024 was either cancelled or postponed
there was an adverse impact on 2023 or 2024 underlying growth as no adjustment
was made for these in the calculation.
The results from acquisitions are included on a pro-forma basis from the first
day of ownership in the comparative period. Disposals are similarly adjusted
for on a pro-forma basis to exclude results in the comparative period from the
date of disposal. Underlying measures are provided to aid comparability of
revenue and adjusted operating profit results against the prior year. The
Financial Review on page 11 provides the reconciliation of underlying measures
of growth to reported measures of growth in percentage terms.
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